Living Child
by LPK9
Summary: If there is one thing that Darth Vader knows, it is that his child is dead. Post ANH AU.
1. Chapter 1

_Author Note: I don't own Star Wars._

 _The_ Executor

 _In Orbit around Sedratis_

 _4 months after the Battle of Yavin_

19 years of service to the Galactic Empire had made Darth Vader a man of military precision and routine.

The planets came and went, with long stretches in hyperspace. But the shipboard regimen provided its own sense of security, of tenuous peace. It assured him that he was, in spite of the personal tragedy that was his life, where he belonged.

He had 65 minutes before his command meeting.

There were reports to analyze, there were _always_ reports, but an errant whisper of the Force directed him to take a rapid walk to Interrogation Chamber #2 in the high security block.

The door to the cell slid open and Vader stepped inside. A captain and two troopers were pushing the prisoner into place against the wall. The prisoner's hands were cuffed above his head and a wide band of metal held his narrow waist against the wall.

He was unconscious. For now.

Vader looked at the young man – and he was, indeed, very young – for a long moment. There was something about him …

"Report," he ordered the officer.

"A Rebel, my Lord, captured by a double agent on Sedratis 4 hours ago. He was stunned and then sedated by the agent. We are preparing to wake him and begin the interrogation. Initial data suggests he is a pilot with substantial knowledge of the workings of Rogue Squadron and he may indeed know the name and location of the Death Star pilot."

Vader nodded slightly. This was why he had been drawn here by the Force, then.

"Wake him up."

A medic, standing to one side, moved forward and injected a stimulant into the boy's arm. It was designed to be an uncomfortable awakening, and included additional chemicals to encourage the subject to talk freely.

Vader watched as the young man regained consciousness. The lolling head straightened suddenly, the youth's legs found purchase on the hard floor below.

And Vader found himself taking a sudden breath out of sync with his respirator. For with consciousness came a blooming Force presence, one both startling in its intensity and familiarity.

This man, no this boy, was not just a pilot, but _the_ pilot. The source of that remarkable Force presence felt in the Death Star trench. Bright, energetic, powerful _, passionate._

Obi-wan's padawan. Or student. Or protégé. The Destroyer of Palpatine's battle station.

He was remarkably untrained.

Darth Vader allowed himself a full smile, a smile which stretched scarred skin, which hurt even as it reminded him that he was still alive.

The smile remained as the youth realized where he was. A look of terror, and pain, flashed across the young face. He yanked, futilely, against the bonds holding him.

"A pointless exercise," Vader boomed stepping closer. The youth flinched, but the determination in those eyes reigned supreme.

The door slid open. The interrogation droid hovered briefly, then moved into the room. The officer and men stepped aside.

Vader hesitated briefly, then gestured for the droid to stop.

"Leave us," he ordered the other sentients in the room.

There was a flash of surprise (muted by the bright Force presence of the child) and then the men obediently marched out, closing the door behind them.

Leaving Darth Vader, and his prey, alone.

There was a long pause, a pause which would have been ironic if the energy pulsing between the men hadn't been so real. For on one hand was a scrawny youth, chained to a wall, and on the other the Dark Lord of the Sith, more than 2 meters in height, black armor, flowing cape, rhythmic respirations.

The boy broke the silence first, his voice filled with passionate conviction, "I won't tell you anything."

Vader tilted his head slightly, "You have already told me much, boy."

He stepped forward, closer, looming over the young man who flinched even as he determinedly lifted his head to stare into Vader's dark mask.

"You fired the shot which destroyed the Death Star," Vader said softly.

A quiver of terror ran through the youth's slim frame, but the face remained defiant.

"You can't prove that," the prisoner said huskily.

"I need no proof," the Dark Lord snarled back softly, "Do you imagine I did not sense you in the Force as you flew down that trench? I look forward to our discussions before your death. I am sure you have much of interest to tell me."

The prisoner gulped, fear crossing his face, before again he straightened his body as much as possible within his bonds.

"I will tell you nothing," he spat, "No matter how much you torture me. Do you imagine I will break before a murderer and betrayer of the Jedi?"

Vader, who had turned away to move toward the interrogation droid, turned back curiously.

"Kenobi died relatively honorably, young one, in battle," the deep voice mused, "Your understanding of betrayal and murder is … rather limited."

"Not … not Ben," the boy returned, his eyes suddenly glowing with rage and grief, "My father. You betrayed and murdered him. I cannot avenge his death at your hands, but I will not betray his memory by telling you any secrets of the Alliance sworn to fight you and against the loathsome regime you support."

Vader considered the boy thoughtfully. There was passion in that young face.

(Would his own child, if he or she had lived, loved him enough to avenge his death?)

That bitter thought provoked his vicious rejoinder, "I have killed many fathers, quite possibly yours. It is _most_ unlikely that he was significant enough that I remember him or the nature of his death at my hands."

He resumed his walk to the interrogation droid, and leaned over to program it. He felt the rage building in the prisoner at his casual dismissal of the father he obviously venerated. All to the better. An emotional prisoner, generally speaking, would break earlier, and speak more freely, than a stoic one.

"His name was Anakin Skywalker."

Darth Vader froze. And turned back.

"What did you say?" Vader demanded blankly.

"Anakin … Skywalker." the youth repeated slowly, steadily, even as he shook long blond bangs out of his eyes, "My father. His name was Anakin Skywalker. He was a Jedi Knight. You betrayed and murdered him. He was Ben Kenobi's friend. I'm quite sure you remember him."

Vader's paralysis ended, followed by a surge of such anger that he flew forward, his hand raised. Only as he closed in on the prisoner did the rational part of his brain step in.

 _Interrogation 101: Do not inflict such damage on a subject that he is unable to speak._

The Dark Lord settled for a harsh slap across the youth's face, hard enough that the boy's head thumped against the durasteel. The brilliant Force presence dimmed as the prisoner fought for consciousness.

Vader waited, hands clenched, barely able to control himself from striking out through the Force and killing the boy. But that was almost certainly what the subject wanted, to die before he could reveal Rebel secrets.

There were other ways for Darth Vader to show his _displeasure_ at this deception, which cut at the very heart of the Sith Lord's most devastating personal tragedy.

The youth shook his head slightly to clear it, then held himself up again, lifting his chin to look directly into Vader's eyes.

(Which was odd. Not even Palpatine could do that reliably.)

"It appears you _do_ remember him," the prisoner said softly, through bruised lips.

"Your false claim is most inadvisable, young one," Vader returned coldly, willing himself to remain calm.

The hardened expression relaxed, changed, into bewilderment.

"You think that I'm _lying_ about the fact that my father was a Jedi Knight?" the boy asked incredulously.

Vader paused. It was an odd contention. And more than that, the prisoner's Force presence was blazing with honesty.

The Sith Lord stared incredulously. This young man actually believed …?

Vader's mind leaped, the pieces clicking together in his mind. The youth was a strong Force sensitive. He had been in Obi-Wan's care. There were many orphans from the Clone Wars and early years of the Empire. So Kenobi had no doubt found a Force sensitive and chosen to convince the boy that he was the son of the legendary Anakin Skywalker. That had to be it.

For the so called 'Alliance to Restore the Republic' would enthusiastically welcome the (imposter) son of the legendary Hero With No Fear.

And Kenobi? He had always been one to have plans within plans. No doubt he had his own intentions for this pretender, but his encounter with Vader on the Death Star had meant his own involvement in the boy's life had ended abruptly.

Vader relaxed slightly. He was still _furious_ at this reminder of his lost child but at least the prisoner was merely confused, not deliberately driving knives of guilt into his brittle soul.

(He had thought, on cold dark nights, of the child dying in the womb of his mother. Had he or she died in terror? Or in those last, horrific moments, as Padme's life ebbed away, had she managed to envelop their little one with love?)

"You are unwise to trust Kenobi, Rebel scum," he responded harshly, "I assure you that his claim of your parentage is false."

The young brow wrinkled in bewilderment.

"Ben didn't tell me that Anakin Skywalker was my father," the boy sputtered indignantly, "My aunt and uncle did. I've always known. They didn't tell me that he was a Jedi, but at least they told me what his _name_ was!"

Vader stared at him and shook his head slightly in bewilderment.

Anakin Skywalker had, of course, been an only child and he knew that Padme's siblings had not adopted a Force strong infant. So Kenobi had arranged for some mysterious couple to raise this boy from infancy, who had told him that they were his blood relations?

He had always been able to take the long view, had Kenobi. And if his plans had been laid out for so long, the child was possibly the child of a Jedi. In those days and months and years when the Jedi were hunted from one end of the galaxy to the other, it was possible that Kenobi had found and taken the offspring of a known Force sensitive.

He allowed his curiosity to bloom to its full glow.

(It subjugated the grief when he thought of his child's bones, nestled in the bones of the mother, in the tomb of Padme Naberrie Skywalker on Naboo.)

He reached out with the Force and stabbed the communicator.

"My Lord?" came the disembodied voice.

"Send my med droid to this cell, immediately."

"Yes, my Lord."

Time was ticking onward. Absently, he sent a com message canceling the command meeting. Any insight into his former master's machinations was of more value than an easily rescheduled meeting.

The next 10 minutes passed in silence. The prisoner continued to exude strength and determination, his face defiant, as Vader gazed at him.

There was a soft whoosh as the door slid open. The med droid approached and waited for instructions.

"Obtain a blood sample from the prisoner. Run a genetic test comparing his DNA to all known Force sensitives in database R3906. Security code NPD15973."

The droid moved forward obediently and carefully inserted a needle into the boy's neck. The boy didn't resist the slight prick.

"Analysis commencing," the droid stated.

The Rebel spoke, skeptically, "You're seriously trying to convince me that you have DNA data for a bunch of dead Jedi, including Anakin Skywalker?"

Again, the prosthetic hands clenched. Again, Vader pushed down the rage at the casual use of that name.

"We have DNA from a vast number of Jedi, and other Force sensitives as well," he replied, "The Jedi kept careful records, and the Empire maintained the database after the Order was eradicated."

He stopped, surprised that he had bothered to explain.

The prisoner was exuding bewilderment, "And you really expect me to believe it when that droid says I'm not Anakin Skywalker's son?"

He stepped forward now and grasped the boy's chin, forcing it upward.

"Your _delusions_ ," he growled at his young prey, "Are of no concern to me. I am merely satisfying my curiosity about Kenobi's machinations in the last 20 years. When this analysis is complete, I will commence with the more important part of today's activities."

The youth paled just slightly, and his eyes darted briefly to the interrogation droid. This time, Vader sensed when the boy drew on the Light Side of the Force to fortify himself for the upcoming ordeal.

He really was remarkably strong, Vader mused, as he stepped back.

There was a beep from the med droid, followed by its calm voice.

"Analysis complete. Paternity match in database."

Vader nodded with interest. So one of the Jedi had indeed …

"Name of paternal parent?"

There was a slight click, and the droid replied, "Data Entry # 8965 Name Anakin Skywalker."

Vader's eyes were on the boy when those ridiculous words emanated from his med droid.

The youth's eyebrows lifted even as he rolled his eyes.

Vader froze, then turned to the droid.

"What?"

The droid managed to convey a slightly offended air as it repeated, 'Data Entry #8965 Name Anakin Skywalker."

Vader turned and stalked toward the droid, "That is _impossible_!"

The droid, not being a biological sentient, held its ground.

It paused, then said, "Analysis repeated. Paternal match. Data entry #8965 Name Anakin Skywalker."

Vader stared at the droid, then back at the boy.

The prisoner looked back at him incredulously, "I told you he was my father. I would think you'd be happy to have another Skywalker to torture and murder."

This would ordinarily have angered Darth Vader, but his brain was such a whirl of confusion that the words passed over him like blowing snow over a frozen lake.

DNA match.

A confused maelstrom of thoughts swirled.

This boy was not his son. His child (he didn't know the gender) was dead. The remains of his wife and child were in a tomb. On Naboo.

A clone. He must have a clone somewhere. He had certainly left pieces of himself in more than one place in the galaxy.

The very thought of a clone made him shudder.

So if the clone had impregnated a woman almost 20 years ago, there would be a child with a paternity match to Anakin Skywalker.

Or perhaps a clone had had a child, and the child had been cloned with accelerated growth to produce the young man who was standing chained to a wall.

The youth was giving him a look like he was crazy.

Maybe he was crazy. Or losing his edge. How could he have missed something as monumental as a clone? And clone child? And who had done it? Kenobi, somehow?

Sidious? (It was the sort of nasty thing his Master would do, come to think of it.)

"It must be a clone …" he muttered.

The boy apparently had excellent hearing.

"You think I'm a _clone_?" he demanded indignantly.

"Not you," Vader muttered back, "Or … maybe. Maybe you are. But your father wasn't Anakin Skywalker. He must have been a clone of Anakin Skywalker."

The boy blinked at him, before shaking his head, "I freely admit, Vader, that this interrogation of yours is very creative. I've read the handbook on Imperial interrogations and I understand the part about the torture droid over there. This peculiar obsession with my father is, I confess, just weird."

Vader let these words flow through his mask into his mechanically augmented ear, but he didn't really grasp them in their entirety.

Because he did have a way to prove it to himself, if not the boy. Not immediately. And he would _convince_ this youth sufficiently that the boy acknowledged, with his own bruised lips, that he was not the son of Anakin Skywalker. Because his child was dead. In a grave. On Naboo.

"Med droid," he barked out suddenly, "Compare subject's DNA to the data files in CGA1738."

(He would sometimes sit and look at Padme's DNA pattern on his holoscreen, at night. She was dead. She would never return to him. But at least he had this record of the woman who had won his heart, and broken his heart. Even as he had broken hers.)

A long pause, and a beep.

"Maternal match. Data entry #1087 Name Padme Naberrie, also known as Padme Amidala. Maternal aunt match. Data entry #9854 Name Sola Naberrie. Maternal grandfather match…"

The droid kept reciting the matches, but Darth Vader was no longer hearing.

He turned back to the child.

His child.

This. Was. His. Child.

There was no reasonable explanation for anything else.

He was an idiot.

He moved forward without thinking. Stared incredulously at the young face in front of him, puffy and red from his harsh strike. The eyes, according to the color sensors in the helmet, were blue. The hair was dark blond. The nose, now that he knew, reminded him painfully of the boy's mother.

He ran a gentle hand over the swollen cheek, regretting it bitterly.

The prisoner was looking indignant and trying to move away from him.

Which was, of course, impossible.

His son must be very uncomfortable. He had been standing with his arms chained over his head for quite some time.

He lifted one hand and released the boy's hands, though he left the band at the waist, keeping him restrained against the wall.

(The situation was too volatile. He knew he was an emotional wreck, and he couldn't let his son, _his son_ , run around this cell while Vader's entire view of the galaxy wobbled madly on its axis.)

The boy's arms fell as Vader backed up, staring at him.

What was the child's first name, he wondered?

He found himself, suddenly, on the floor, kneeling. Not in reverence toward his Master, but because he couldn't hold himself vertical anymore.

He felt like rocking back and forth like a demented prisoner in an insane asylum.

He had known known known known known that Padme was dead and the child was dead and Sidious told him he had killed them both and now …

He knew none of it was true.

He had a living child.

 _Author Note: I have read many fics where Vader finds out about Luke, and they are great. In most fics, Vader seems to have a remarkable ability to grasp the truth quickly. I decided it would be fun to write a story where he just will not accept what is right in front of him until a med droid forces it down his reluctant throat. Hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter will have Luke's reaction._


	2. Chapter 2

_Author Note: So first, I am publicly proclaiming this will not be a long fanfic. I just can't take on another one when I still have_ Peculiar Dream _going! I wouldn't have started this one, but a determined plot bunny attacked me and metaphorically kicked me with its cute furry feet until I wrote it. Secondly, I started all angsty in Chapter 1 and then this chapter got funny. So there is quite a different flavor to Chapter 2._

 _/-/_

 _Interrogation Chamber #2_

 _The Executor_

 _In orbit around Sedratis_

Luke Skywalker rubbed his bruised wrists as he stared in bewilderment at the Dark Lord who was currently kneeling on the floor in front of him.

Vader was actually swaying slightly, and kept muttering soft words that were mostly inaudible, though Luke heard "he's alive" and "kill" and "Kenobi" and something that sounded like "hideous." And "will die" once or twice.

Luke chewed on his lip for 500 milliseconds then stopped as a stab of pain reminded him that, oh yes, Vader had hit him moderately hard across the face a few minutes ago.

Not, of course, that Luke Skywalker had any illusions about how minor that initial slap was. He knew things were going to get much, much, much worse. Leia had told him, in hushed tones, of her torture at Vader's hands. He had read the preparatory manuals, and even had been subject to fake interrogations (involving verbal abuse though not physical torture) to prep for this day, a day he had hoped would not come to pass.

But it had. He had been captured. And then, catastrophically, identified by the Dark Lord himself as the pilot who had destroyed the Death Star.

He shot a nervous glance at the interrogation droid. It was black, and hovered, and had nasty impedimenta attached to its spherical body.

This whole 'thing' with Vader being weird about Anakin Skywalker was probably designed to confuse him and throw him off balance.

He realized, with shame, that he had been impetuous in telling Vader his father's name. What had he been thinking? It was the Sith Lord's indifference that had gotten to him. Luke had wanted Vader to acknowledge his father, acknowledge that Anakin Skywalker mattered, that his death was important to someone, at least.

Luke sighed. And then Vader had gotten truly bizarre. DNA tests. Yelling. And now the kneeling and the rocking. It was oddly humorous, in a way. In a terrible way.

A hysterical laugh started forming in Luke's throat. He struggled against it; laughing at Darth Vader was about as stupid as he could get.

At this moment, the interrogation droid, which had been resting quietly, apparently decided to take matters into its own torture tools, and suddenly started moving toward him, making a high pitched beeping sound. Luke's hysterical chortle subsided even as he realized he should have been trying to get loose from the band around his middle, which was holding him firmly, even uncomfortably, against the wall.

With his hands free, maybe he could wiggle his way out of the band while Vader was … busy?

No, he couldn't.

Luke straightened again, once he realized he was stuck, and looked at the droid which was now less than a meter from him, a long needle pointing toward his torso. If he reached down with his hand, maybe he could …

The droid suddenly sparked, its needle twisted, the high pitched squeal grew higher for a brief moment, then ended.

An unseen force hurled it against the wall, and it fell on the floor, lifeless.

Luke turned, startled, to see Vader looming over him, one hand outstretched toward the mechanical monstrosity. The interrogation droid was being crumpled into a smaller size than seemed physically possible.

Finally, the Dark Lord turned back to him.

Luke stared, wide eyed.

"I will not allow you to be harmed," Vader said solemnly.

Luke blinked, "Um, Ok …"

There was a long pause, and Vader continued, surprisingly, "And I … regret striking you. I failed to understand that you were speaking the truth."

Luke nodded, as if this made any kind of sense.

The synapses connected in his brain.

"Good Imp, bad Imp," he said out loud.

Vader tilted his head, "That is not clear, young one."

"You know," Luke said, completely recklessly, "Good Imp, bad Imp. There is one Imp who pretends to be the prisoner's friend, and they sort of bond, and then the Bad Imp comes sweeping in and beats up the captive while the 'Good Imp' stands by, 'betraying' the prisoner who thought he had a friend. It's classic. Though … you have a new twist in being both in succession. And while I know you are very much in charge here, I have to say that you are not very convincing as a Good Imp. You're incredibly fearsome."

At this point, Luke's brain finally called a halt and he shut his mouth. What in all the galaxies was he doing talking like this to Darth Vader? The upcoming interrogation was going to be horrible enough without deliberately antagonizing the man.

Of course, it was going to be truly horrible anyway. Maybe it didn't matter?

But he usually wasn't this loquacious.

But he had been drugged. That's right. Maybe some kind of drug was lowering his speaking inhibitions? He did feel a little funny. Though being drugged, stunned, drugged again, and then attacked by a Sith Lord _would_ make him feel funny.

Hastily, he thought back through everything he had said. Except for telling Vader his father's name, he hadn't revealed any secrets.

And he wouldn't. For Anakin Skywalker's sake. For Leia's. For the Alliance.

He firmed his expression and focused in on Vader, who was standing in a parade rest position, his mask facing Luke's face directly.

There was a long pause as the two sentients stared at one another.

"You believe," Vader finally said, "That I seek to confuse you, to manipulate you. That is hardly my typical methodology."

Luke nodded, "I know. Or at least, that's what I've heard. But maybe, I don't know, you're trying out some new techniques? Even a really experienced torturer and murderer probably wants to try something new occasionally. To keep it fresh. It probably gets boring."

He succeeded in stopping again. He was _definitely_ drugged with something that was loosening his tongue.

Vader stepped forward and Luke stiffened, preparing for another blow. The gauntleted right hand reached out and ran four prosthetic fingers down Luke's left cheek.

Then the Dark Lord turned away and began pacing in the small confines of the cell.

"I am not … I am not manipulating you. I struck you in anger because I thought, no, I knew …"

Now Vader stopped and stared straight at Luke, "I knew that the child was dead. I knew it. And I could not believe that all I had known to be true for 19 years was false. They deceived me, both my former and current master. Deceived me about the most important thing in my life."

Luke blinked.

"Uh, what child?"

"The child," Vader returned solemnly, "Whom I knew was dead. And is not. You're alive."

Luke's brow furrowed, "Well, I am alive now. Not for long, I suppose, unless you want to torture me for months as an example …"

"No one," Vader interrupted fiercely, "Will touch you, will touch _my son_!"

Luke's mouth gaped open.

A long moment passed.

"What?" Luke demanded in disbelief.

Vader stepped slightly closer, "You are my son. I am your father."

Luke froze. Blinked.

Ok. This was really insane. Or maybe … maybe Vader was insane? He was reputed to be rational, if monstrous, but so far he was acting completely out of character …

"You do not believe me," Vader stated, with what seemed to be a slightly disappointed droop of the massive shoulders.

Luke took a deep breath. He was in real trouble. He had been before, but now? Locked in a cell with an insane Dark Lord was so not good.

Politely, carefully, he gestured to the med droid, "According to your med droid, Lord Vader, I am the son of Anakin Skywalker."

"Yes," Vader agreed.

"And you, obviously, are not Anakin Skywalker."

Maybe that would pull Vader back from the brink.

The behemoth nodded, "I am not Anakin Skywalker."

"So, obviously …" Luke began.

"But I was," Vader continued firmly.

Luke's brow furrowed, "You were what?"

Again, the cyborg paced, "For the first 23 years of my life, I was the human male known as Anakin Skywalker. I turned to the Dark Side and took the name Darth Vader. I was badly injured in a fight with my former master Kenobi and require this mask and suit to survive."

Luke bit his lip. Stopped. It hurt. Vader had hit him. Right.

This was truly a bizarre situation. Vader was obviously trying to trick him, but why? Luke was, as the Dark Lord seemed to know, the pilot who had destroyed the Death Star. Why this strange story about Anakin Skywalker?

"What is your first name?" Vader asked softly.

"Luke," Luke replied absently, then mentally berated himself. He really shouldn't be talking so freely!

"Luke," the Sith Lord repeated, apparently reverently, "It is a good name. A strong name."

"Um, thanks?" Luke said.

He thought furiously.

Then it hit him, "That's it! I'm hallucinating."

The massive head tilted, "What?"

"I'm hallucinating," Luke exclaimed eagerly, nodding to himself, "I was drugged on Sedratis. So … three rotten scenarios are possible. One, I'm unconscious and hallucinating in some bounty hunter's hold. Second, I've been captured by the Empire and pumped with drugs and I'm hallucinating. Third, I'm being interrogated right now, again with drugs, and I'm seeing you and mixing in my own father issues into some sort of dreadful nightmare. You might really be here conducting the interrogation, but then again maybe you aren't. Either way, it's bad. But at least it makes sense."

Vader huffed loudly enough that a soft sound escaped his vocoder, "It makes _no_ sense, young one. Can you seriously believe that the air you breathe, the sounds you hear, are hallucinations, are some peculiar dream? This is real. I am your father. You are my son. This is the truth."

"Well, obviously it can't be," Luke replied. He was almost sagging in relief against the band around his waist. It was helpful to have a reasonable explanation for these truly bizarre events.

Vader folded his arms, "And why can it not be?"

Luke sighed, "My father, Anakin Skywalker, is dead. I know that. He's been dead since about the time I was born. You, or the real manifestation of you, killed him. And practically speaking, you are ridiculously tall and I'm short. I mean, if I was really your son, wouldn't I be tall?"

Vader sighed again, "You inherited your height from your mother. And I was not as tall as … as Anakin Skywalker. My cybernetic prostheses increased my height."

Luke raised his eyebrows, "Interesting."

The two men stared at one another.

"You still refuse to believe the truth," Vader stated.

"I believe," Luke said, with the tilt of his head, "That I have a very messed up subconscious right now. It's interesting, really. I mean, I know I have father issues. I missed him so much growing up. I dreamed of him coming for me, even though my uncle and aunt told me from an early age that he was dead. So yeah, I've got drugs in my system and they probably are the type to induce nightmares, so this makes a strange sort of sense. Darth Vader as my father. That's about as terrible as it could get. Maybe Palpatine would be worse, but maybe not."

"If I had known you lived," Vader replied fiercely, "I would have torn the stars apart to find you and take you as my own."

Luke's eyes widened, "See, that is so … so sweet. That's what I wanted to hear. Always did. Having a manifestation of Vader say it, though, is just so weird. If I'm ever lucky enough to get back to the Alliance, I'll have a long talk with one of the psychiatric droids. It would have a field day. Maybe a real human psychiatrist would like to write a research holopaper. But probably not. I'm not that interesting."

Darth Vader stared incredulously as his son rambled on.

What was he going to do with this impossible child?


	3. Chapter 3

_5 days later_

 _The Executor_

 _In hyperspace_

Luke woke up.

He sat up and looked around.

For the 5th 'morning' in a row, he had woken up. In a very comfortable bed, in a very lavish "prison cell", on the Star Destroyer _Executor_.

It was a cell, in the sense that he was locked in. Security was tight. Every time the door opened, Luke saw multiple troopers standing guard. He had prowled around and even succeeded in getting into some duct work on the 3rd day, only to be quickly retrieved by Darth Vader. Who had clearly been annoyed, but hadn't harmed him.

Some hapless high level officer had given up his suite, presumably. The bedding and towels were of the best quality, and the refresher had a real water shower.

Clothes had been found for him, rapidly. He knew he was smaller than the usual trooper and officer, but Vader had found a way to provide him with suitable attire to replace the tattered and dirty clothing from his capture on Sedratis. It wasn't even openly Imperial. Luke would have categorically refused to wear an Imperial officer's uniform. The last thing he, or the Alliance, needed, was holos of him in an Imperial officer's uniform!

Luke rolled out of bed and padded over to the large window looking out into hyperspace.

He leaned his head against the transparisteel and groaned aloud.

He had realized, 3 days ago, belatedly and reluctantly, that he was not hallucinating. This was real. He really had been captured and was being held in luxurious quarters on a Super Star Destroyer.

Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith, destroyer of worlds, murderer and betrayer, really was claiming to be his long lost father. And was backing it up by being peculiarly nice, even parental.

The Sith Lord had even dragged in a med droid and insisted on another DNA test, this time with his own blood and Luke's. And surprise surprise, there was a match. _Right_. Like Luke was going to trust some stupid pre-programmed Imperial med droid!

Luke ran a hand over his face. He glanced at the chrono on the wall. He had 40 minutes before Vader showed up, if 4 days was enough for a routine to be established. But he thought maybe it was. The Dark Lord seemed to be a scheduled sort of person.

The youth rolled to his feet and headed for the refresher.

10 minutes later, he was out, dried, and dressed. (He had spent 3 minutes in the shower. 19 years on Tatooine had ingrained a deep seated responsibility to save water, even Imperial water.)

5 minutes later, the food prep unit chimed melodically.

Luke strolled over to see what breakfast was today.

The steaming food was, as it had been the last 2 days, of Tatooine origin. Luke sniffed appreciatively. Blue milk, bantha steaks, and convor eggs. The latter were not specifically from his home world, but he had eaten rehydrated convor eggs often enough. Aunt Beru had made it taste delicious.

Which was, presumably, the point? Vader had determined fairly quickly his homeworld of origin, perhaps from his Outer Rim accent. A good translator droid could even tell, from vowel inflection, which particular homeworld.

Vader had then tracked down information about Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. He had claimed that Anakin Skywalker was the stepbrother of Owen Lars, and thus insisted that the Lars were sort of Luke's aunt and uncle, but not really. Not blood relations.

Whatever.

Luke had more important questions to ponder. First, when would Vader turn on the heat? The Dark Lord had been pursuing the "kind and gentle" routine for 5 days now. Luke was still bracing himself for the inevitable unpleasantness to come, but he was plenty confused. He had information of value and the longer Vader waited to try to break him, the less useful the data was.

Secondly, what was Vader's ultimate purpose here? Was he truly experimenting on Luke? Bored?

A thought had floated into Luke's mind last night, during a brief waking period. He contemplated it now. Liked it. It sort of made sense.

15 minutes later, the door chimed. Luke stood up and braced himself as the Dark Lord of the Sith, 2 meters of terror and heavy breathing, strode into the room.

Behind him, the door slid shut, concealing the troops tasked with keeping him contained in the suite.

Vader approached and stood at parade rest position. The two men stared at one another.

"So I have an idea," Luke said, breaking the silence.

"I look forward to hearing it," Vader responded, clearly sarcastically.

"So you've killed lots of Force sensitives, right? I mean, not just Jedi but anyone with a strong connection to the Force. So there probably aren't many of us floating around the galaxy who have much Force ability. I'm Anakin Skywalker's son, and from what I've heard, he was a powerful Force sensitive."

"Yes, I _am_ a very powerful Force sensitive," Vader interpolated indignantly.

Luke sighed, glared, and went on, "So maybe I'm also a strong Force sensitive …"

"You are," Vader said.

"So you've been tearing around the galaxy killing people and wreaking havoc and basically dominating everyone and everything. Maybe you really are bored. You need a new challenge. So here I am, possibly strong, and not trained. So you're pretending to be my father so I'll serve you. Like an apprentice? Or a pet anooba? Something like that."

Vader made a sound which might have been interpreted as teeth grinding against one another, even as he took two long strides towards Luke.

The youth froze in terror, suddenly aware that he had, once again, been running off his mouth at _Darth Vader_.

But once again, Vader apparently calmed himself and did not lash out. Instead, the cyborg turned away and strode to the window, where he stared out at hyperspace for 5 long minutes.

5 long minutes during which Luke held very still. He was being an idiot to push Vader like this, he knew that. The truth was that the waiting was getting to him. He wanted to get the inevitable abuse started. This horrible anticipation of the coming explosion was almost unbearable.

The Dark Lord finally turned back to Luke.

"I do not understand," he said in a voice which conveyed disappointment and frustration, "Why you refuse to believe the truth. I am your father. You are my son. Search your feelings, Luke, you know it to be true."

"I assure you, Vader," Luke snapped, "That my feelings definitely do not tell me that my father became a psychopathic, murderous cyborg! If they did, I would assume that I had actually, completely, lost my mind. I don't know why you are lying to me about this, but I know that you are lying. You were never Anakin Skywalker. I am not your son. You are _not my father_!"

He was yelling, he realized. At Vader.

The Sith Lord's hands clenched for a long moment, and then the armored figure relaxed.

"I did not mean your feelings in terms of your desires, young one," the bass voice explained wearily, "But your feelings through the Force. Reach out through the Force and seek the truth. You must be willing to accept it, even if it is not what you desire."

Luke rolled his eyes, "I can't do that."

Vader shook an admonitory finger, "Cannot, or will not?"

"I can't!" Luke exclaimed, and began stomping up and down the room, "I am not Force trained at all. Well, like 2 days, with Ben. That was it, and then you killed him on the Death Star. I can't touch the Force at will. The only time I really feel it is when I'm flying. I have no way of figuring out if someone is lying or not. In fact, I am absolutely terrible at knowing whether someone is lying or not. It would definitely be a convenient skill to develop since that agent on Sedratis totally deceived me and I got stunned and drugged and captured …"

Vader stood, apparently frozen in disbelief.

"Two days?" he asked.

"Two days, yes, two days," Luke repeated, glaring.

"What was Kenobi thinking?" Vader muttered, "You should have been trained from childhood. It was a crime that someone with your ability in the Force was not trained …"

Luke stalked up to him, tilting his head to look into that armored mask, "I would guess that my Uncle Owen was responsible. He didn't like Ben at all. He ran him off the farm more than once."

"I see," Vader said after a moment, obviously lost in thought.

"So you might just as well start the torture, Vader," Luke said, his eyes narrowing, "And quit this little game you are playing with me. It won't work. I'm taking up space and food and water and your precious time and there is absolutely no point. Just give it up and get it over with."

The Dark Lord stared at him with apparent incredulity.

"I will not harm you, my son," he responded simply. And left the room.

Leaving Luke Skywalker frustrated, bewildered, and alone.

 _Author Note: I know Luke is being_ so _obtuse. Next chapter he realizes the truth, and the sparks really start flying! Many thanks to my wonderful husband who is beta'ing this, and also to those of you taking time to follow and review. It is incredibly encouraging._


	4. Chapter 4

_2 days later_

 _The Executor_

 _Conference Room #3_

Vader was in the middle of a thoroughly dull command meeting when his son's Force sense went from irritable boredom, to interest, to uneasiness, to stark horror in the space of 60 minutes.

The horror provoked him to cut short the meeting and rush to his son's carefully secured living quarters.

The troopers protecting and guarding the boy were in place and he sensed no one else in the room with Luke, so the child was safe enough.

Vader strode through the door and stopped. Luke was sitting on the floor, his arms wrapped around his legs, his face on his knees, sobbing.

Now that he was closer, Vader could pick up the thoughts roiling around in his son's mind.

" _It's true. It is. It's true. He's my father. This is horrible. Horrible. I want to die …"_

And so on.

Vader stared silently at the youth for a long moment and sat down on a nearby chair. In one way, it was an enormous relief that Luke had finally accepted the truth. On the other hand, the sheer level of despair was more than a little discouraging.

Since Luke did not seem interested in interacting, Vader looked around to try and see what had provoked his son's sudden revelation.

The holoterminal was on, Vader realized. He tilted his head in sudden interest; on the screen was a holovid about Luke's mother, Padme Naberrie Amidala. (She was also a Skywalker – but very few in the galaxy knew of her marriage to Anakin Skywalker.) These vids were carefully repressed across the star systems, but Vader had collected every possible image of his beloved wife to torture himself at appropriate intervals.

This particular vid, he noted, was the documentary that had been composed after Padme had died. She had been a much loved figure on Naboo, and an adoring photojournalist had collected many public and even some private holos of Padme and put them together in a reverent holodocu. Palpatine had discovered the holovid 2 months later and had attempted to destroy all copies and source material. The journalist himself had disappeared too, though Vader had investigated sufficiently to believe the man might have made a successful run for it.

Vader had managed to secretly save a copy of the memorial documentary. He had chosen to send a copy of the copy to Luke this morning. While his son had refused to believe that Vader and Anakin Skywalker were one and the same, there was no reason Luke wouldn't be interested in the woman whom the med droid had said was his mother. Obviously Luke had watched at least this vid, and somehow decided Vader was telling the truth.

The sound was off, and he watched it uncomfortably as Luke continued to huddle miserably on the floor.

Padme had been so beautiful, so strong, so noble, so _good_. He had not deserved her. (Of course he hadn't. What kind of husband choked his own beloved wife?)

The Dark Lord narrowed his eyes. There was an image of Anakin Skywalker now, walking at the side of the then Chancellor Palpatine at some tedious political event. Padme approached, and for a surprising two minutes, the three soundlessly interacted. Vader didn't remember what was going on at this point in the vid. Maybe the narrator was expounding at length? There were, he recalled now, quite a few images of his former self in the documentary because he had been Padme's bodyguard for some time.

He turned back to Luke, with a sigh.

The child was now sitting cross legged, gazing blankly at the screen, his eyes dull with misery.

"So you have accepted the truth," Vader finally said.

"You walk the same," the youth said in a numb tone, even as he lifted his hand which held a controller. The vid moved back and again Anakin Skywalker and Chancellor Palpatine walked down a long aisle.

"Your stride has changed a little because of the prosthetics but the movement is the same. And the way you move your head is so distinctive. And your parade rest position is identical. Whenever you enter a room you do a quick check to the right, then to the left. And there are 6 more obvious characteristics that you and … Anakin Skywalker share. It's awful. This is horrible. You really are my father …"

The boy lowered his head and lifted his hands to his face, his narrow shoulders heaving as he sobbed in despair.

Vader felt the scar tissue in his forehead crease in incredulity. He'd offered Luke DNA tests and historical documents and Tatooine cuisine and the boy was convinced because of the way he _walked_?

Vader sighed and turned to stare at the vid carefully. He didn't see what Luke saw. But if Luke had accepted the truth based on obscure mannerisms, then he would accept it thankfully and move on. Now that the boy knew that they were father and son, surely he could be convinced to fall in with the Dark Lord's plans.

He rose to his feet and stepped over to his son.

"Luke, stand up," he ordered firmly, holding out his hand.

The boy looked mutinous for a moment, but then scrambled to his feet even as he firmly refused to take his father's helping prosthetic.

Vader reached out a gentle hand and tilted his son's chin up, forcing the youth to gaze into his eyes.

"Son," the Dark Lord rumbled softly, "You are strong in the Force, and have not yet begun to discover your power. I will train you in the Dark Ways, and with our combined strength we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy. I will teach …"

He stopped, as Luke had stepped back from him, his eyes flashing, his head shaking negatively.

"I will never join you, Vader," the boy said, clearly enraged, "Do you imagine that my acceptance of our biological relationship changes _anything_?"

There was a pause, and then Luke's face shifted from angry to downcast, "I mean, it does matter. A lot. Of course it does. I'm not the son of a noble Jedi Knight. I'm Sith spawn, son of a murderer and torturer. I'm … my whole life is a lie. I can't believe it. But …"

And now the defiance was back, "But I will never join you, or the Empire. The Imperial government has been directly responsible for the deaths of countless innocents, and the slavery of many more. This government is brutal and despotic and cruel, and you are its chief enforcer! I may be your son, but I will not work with you, I will not learn from you, and I will not be your apprentice, student, or slave."

Vader's hands clenched at Luke's reckless reference to slavery, but he forced himself to remain calm with some difficulty. Naturally, the child would be a naïve idealist.

"You are young, my son," he replied patiently, "You do not yet realize that in order to maintain order and peace, there are inevitable casualties. The Empire has been required to make difficult choices with some loss of non-combatant life in order to pursue an era of serenity undreamed of during the chaotic latter years of the Republic and the Clone Wars."

Luke moved forward again, those blue eyes boring into his own, "You know what? I realize I'm just an uneducated farmboy from an Outer Rim desert planet, but I don't have to be a philosopher, or a genius, or a brilliant politician like my mother to know that a good government doesn't wantonly blow up a planet with _6 billion_ innocent people on it."

Vader considered even as he sighed. He knew Luke had rescued Princess Leia from the Death Star. She was a beautiful young woman, and a charismatic one. (She was actually rather like Padme, truth be told.) Naturally, the boy would be passionately opposed to the destruction of Alderaan.

"The royal family of Alderaan plotted against the Empire, my son. There are regrettably times when the treasonous actions of leaders result in negative consequences for their subjects."

His son's eyes grew hot with fury. On one hand, the powerful anger emanating from Luke excited the Dark Side within Vader. On the other hand, he was not sure he could train one so unused to the Force if Luke wasn't at least somewhat willing to work with him.

Abruptly, the boy's anger faded away, to be replaced by sadness.

Luke turned and strode to the transparisteel window, staring out into hyperspace, "You know what I was doing during the last 19 years, while you flew the galactic starways and climbed the ladder of Imperial power and gathered riches and honor and glory and destroyed the Jedi and laid waste to cities?"

He turned back to look at Vader, "I was living in a moisture farm on Tatooine, fixing malfunctioning moisture evaporators and living with poverty, occasional hunger, frequent thirst, and the constant fear of raids by Tuskens."

Rage filled Vader's soul. That his son had been forced to grow up on that accursed planet …

"That was Kenobi's doing," he said angrily, "He took you, he _kidnapped_ you. You should have been raised at my side, with all the blessings of honor and wealth and privilege."

Luke didn't even seem to hear him, "And you know who was with me during those years? Owen and Beru Lars. They took me in. They must have known Anakin Skywalker was a Jedi, and yet they risked their lives by taking in his infant child. They sacrificed and nurtured and protected and guided me. They sometimes went hungry during the hard years so that I would have what I needed."

Luke marched back towards Vader now, his face hard, "And 5 months ago, a group of scavenger Jawas sold my uncle 2 droids, one of which had the Death Star plans. We didn't know that, of course. And the next day, while I was away with the droids, stormtroopers broke into our home and interrogated and slaughtered my aunt and uncle and burned down the farm. I came home to find their smoking corpses outside the ruins of the only home I had ever known."

He stepped closer still, "So you talk to me about regrettable loss of non-combatant life and I think of Owen and Beru Lars, honest, hardworking, moisture farmers. They didn't do anything wrong, and the men under your command _murdered_ them for no reason. They were the only family I ever had. So you just go ahead and try to justify your brutal and callous disdain of innocent civilians, _Father_. I will die before I join you and turn to the Dark Side."

Luke shot him one last look of loathing and then turned on his heel, storming toward the bedroom.

Vader's reservoir of patience, which had been running low the last few exasperating days, completely ran out. A sudden surge of rage filled him, and he extended one hand and grabbed Luke's torso with the Force, turning him around and dragging him within physical reach of his own prosthetic arms. At the same time, he applied Force pressure to the boy's windpipe.

Luke's hands automatically went to his throat as he struggled for breath.

Vader released the hold after 25 seconds. Luke gasped for air even as the Dark Lord reached out his hand and grabbed his son's chin, forcing it upward toward him.

"Your disrespect for me is not acceptable, my son," he snarled softly, "And the sooner you realize that, the better it will be for you."

Luke panted for another minute, even as those blue eyes blazed with determination.

When the youth had his breathing under control, he twisted his head away from his father's grip.

"Let's get one thing straight," the youth stated coldly, "I do not respect you, Father, and I never will. I'm afraid of you, yes. I'm in awe at your power in the Force. I'm aware that you have capabilities beyond anything I have ever dreamed of. But I do not respect you."

He took a step back, and Vader allowed him too, the rising anger in his own heart mitigated by a surprising stab of pain at the rejection inherent in his son's words.

Luke turned his head now to look at the holovid, which was currently showing Padme Amidala at a podium, her hands stretched out, her beautiful face passionate, her mouth moving silently.

The boy continued more softly, "If even a tenth of the details in this holodoc are true, then I do respect Padme Naberrie. A great deal. And I assume she willingly slept with you, and willingly bore your child …"

"We were married," Vader interrupted angrily. The intimation of some sordid relationship was disgusting.

Wonder crossed Luke's face, before his expression settled grimly, "Then Anakin Skywalker must have been quite a man as well, if she married him. So I would even say I respect him. But you? You were born with the Force sensitivity of the ages, served for a time as a Jedi, a powerful warrior and noble protector of the people. And then you threw it all away, abandoned your wife and child, and pursued personal power as a vital and brutal player in the destruction of the Galactic Republic. Now you are a torturer, enslaver, and murderer, working as the cruel right hand of a most vicious and despotic Emperor. There is nothing to respect about that."

Luke lifted a hand and caressed his neck, where red marks showed the location of Vader's brief Force choke, "Now if you aren't going to kill me right now, I'd _appreciate_ your permission to retire to my room."

Vader's gaze lingered on his son's throat.

"Go," he said quietly, turning away.

Luke walked quickly into his bedroom and the door slid closed behind him.

Vader hesitated, then reluctantly reached out through the Force. Luke had maintained rigid control until he was out of sight of the Dark Lord, but Vader now sensed that his son had thrown himself on his bed, his desolate grief reverberating through the Force like a tidal wave.

The Dark Lord stood silently for a long moment and his head slumped, his gaze drifting to the floor.

Rage and shame battled in his heart, before shame gained the upper hand. Self-loathing threatened to overwhelm him. In spite of his determination to be patient with his son, he had lashed out in anger at Luke at the first possible opportunity.

Well, not the _first_ opportunity. The boy had been completely infuriating since he'd come on board. But nevertheless, after all of Vader's protestations that he would not harm Luke, he had given into rage and had indeed attacked the child.

As he had attacked the boy's mother.

There had been, briefly, an expression in the youth's face that mirrored that of Padme's as she struggled for breath as he choked her on Mustafar.

What was he going to do now? Luke was stubborn, he knew that. Like Padme. His loathing toward the Empire was deep seated and enduring.

And could Vader truly blame the boy? He had lost his own mother to Tuskens, and carried an eternal hatred for the Raiders ever since. Luke's hatred towards the Imperial regime which had destroyed his adoptive family was entirely reasonable.

And yet, he couldn't just keep Luke locked up and 'enjoy' his company for much longer without Sidious finding out about his son. And once he did, Palpatine would order Vader to bring Luke before him, and all would be lost, one way or another. The most likely scenario was that the Emperor would kill the child or, Vader thought with a shudder, order _him_ to do the dreadful deed. And if Luke was spared, it would be only to be broken into either a Hand or an Apprentice. If the latter, than father and son would face one another in battle and the winner would take his place at Palpatine's side.

He shook his head. What was he going to do? How could he protect Luke when the boy refused to learn from him, refused to be trained in the Dark Ways? Luke was so vulnerable now.

An image caught the corner of his vision. He lifted his head and took a breath out of sync with his normal respiration.

The documentary had ended, and the credits were rolling on one side of the screen. The other side showed a picture of Padme, her beautiful face solemn, her eyes seemingly gazing directly into his own.

How often he had seen that expression on her face, one of love but also challenge. She had been 5 years older, and the wiser partner in their marriage. Once, twice, ten times, a hundred times, she had bathed him with that look, pulling him away from some frankly stupid decision.

For the thousandth, no – millionth time – he felt the agonizing ache of her loss. He needed her, needed her wisdom, her love, her insight. She would have known what to do with their stubborn son.

Her last words echoed in his ears again, " _Come away with me. Help me raise our child, leave everything else behind while we still can._ "

He bowed his head again, suddenly fearful of the solemn gaze of his dead wife.

Come away with me.

Come away …

Come away.

He bit his inner cheek, ignoring the pain.

It was a foolish idea. It would never work. Palpatine would hunt them down.

But Vader _had_ made plans in case he ever needed to disappear.

And there was no more critical time than the present.

He nodded and strode toward the exit.

He knew what he was going to do.


	5. Chapter 5

_Executor_

 _In Orbit around Fondor_

 _4 days later_

Luke was on his 46th push-up when the door to his quarters slid open.

He rolled to his feet as Darth Vader stepped through the door of his suite with an officer and 6 stormtroopers behind him.

Luke waited, tensely. It had been 4 days since Vader (His father. _His father!_ ) had entered his quarters.

The first day after the dreadful epiphany of their biological relationship, Luke had spent the day in bed, alternating crying and sleeping.

The second day, he'd gotten mad. This situation was so horrible it was almost ridiculous. How could his sire be this vicious and cruel Sith Lord? It seemed impossible, but it was true.

Once or twice he had let his mind wander into hope – maybe he was wrong about all those mannerisms? But no. He had always been adept at recognizing individuals from a distance based on stride, posture, head movement, and so on. Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader shared so many similarities in their body language there was absolutely no doubt. Darth Vader was, or used to be, Anakin Skywalker. It was ironic that this largely useless ability to recognize individuals from body language had led to the most horrific discovery of his young life.

It was true that his chances of avoiding death by torture were probably higher now that both father and son knew of their relationship. On the other hand, Vader had choked him a few days ago. Admittedly, he was being disrespectful and annoying, but still, Vader's patience obviously had fairly significant limits.

So yeah, maybe he'd end up on a scan grid anyway.

Nasty thought.

The third day he had woken up with renewed determination. Yes, his biological father was a terror of the galaxy and a thoroughly despicable man. But he was not just the son of Darth Vader, he was also the son of Padme Naberrie. Would she have huddled miserably in bed? He watched every holo Vader had sent about her and Luke was sure she would not. She would do what she could to combat evil, even when the evil in question was embodied in a family member.

So that third day, he had taken a shower, eaten well after basically fasting for a couple of days, and started exercising vigorously. Being in good shape was important in general, and especially important when your evil Dark Lord sire might take it into his masked head to do something unnerving and horrible.

He also thought long and hard. The important thing was to stay true to his ideals. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru had raised him well. He had spent the last few months with some incredible people – Leia Organa, General Dodonna, and he'd even met Mon Mothma once or twice. And Han Solo, for all his posture for being an indifferent mercenary, had shown his true colors many a time. The man had, after all, come back to shoot Vader off his tail in the Death Star trench.

So yes, whether Vader liked it or not, Luke was not going to give up all he believed and become a puppet of the Dark Side.

Now, Luke stood in the middle of the room Vader and his men approached.

The Dark Lord halted in front of his son and the stormtroopers moved into a circle around him. All lifted their blasters to point at Luke.

"Hold out your hands," Vader said coldly, holding out a pair of binders.

Silently, Luke obeyed and his father placed the cold metal cuffs around his wrists.

The officer moved forward now and Luke frowned slightly as the man carefully fit a collar around his neck.

Shock collar. Probably with the controller held by Vader.

Well, this didn't look very good at all. Apparently Vader was truly done with the gentle treatment.

"Come," Vader ordered, and turned on his heel. Luke was shoved roughly by one of the troopers and, without any other realistic options, followed his father out of the suite that had been his home for the last week.

They marched through a few corridors, then entered a large elevator, one with sufficient capacity for one huge Sith Lord, a retinue of 7 Imperials, and one reluctant Rebel. The elevator moved downward 14 levels and opened into a new set of corridors.

Luke, obeying another push from a trooper, followed Vader through three more turns and finally to a larger door, where Vader held up his hand to a keypad. There was a flash of recognition from the door's computer, and the door opened.

Vader stepped through, and Luke followed him nervously. His best guess was an interrogation chamber.

His best guess was wrong. As soon as he stepped through a short, narrow corridor, he found himself in a small hanger, and in the middle of it sat a ship.

Luke bit down a gasp. She wasn't particularly big, but she was beautiful, sleek, metallic. He'd love to get a look at her engines because this ship looked seriously powered.

The officer, who had been marching along at his heels, grasped his arm and pulled him toward the entrance ramp to the ship. Luke stumbled slightly before regaining his balance and picked up the pace, glancing at Vader as he did so. The Dark Lord wasn't looking at him, but Luke heard him say, "You have your orders, Captain?"

"Yes, my Lord. We will finish the _Executor_ 's shield analysis …"

And then Luke was being pulled up the entrance ramp and into the ship itself. The interior was white and the lines were surprisingly … non-linear. There were pleasing curves and sinuous shapes. It was a beautiful ship inside and out.

Not a particularly Imperial ship. Imperial ships were designed to be practical but not aesthetically attractive.

Before he had time to think further, the officer held up a code cylinder to a door. It slid open, and Luke was shoved inside. The door shut behind him.

Outside, Vader stretched out his senses even as Captain Piett finished his report. Luke was bewildered and yes, frightened, but underneath was the undercurrent of determination, strength, and courage which had marked his son since their first interaction in the trenches of the Death Star, and the second in the interrogation chamber of the _Executor_.

Vader, who had been battling uncertainty, was suddenly filled with conviction. This _was_ the right thing to do.

Luke stood still inside the small room into which he had been inserted so abruptly. It was a small bedroom, with a bed and another door which, he discovered, led to a small refresher. No window. The lighting was currently set for high, but he could see a dimmer switch which would allow him to adjust the level. Awkwardly, because of his still manacled hands, he slid open a panel in the wall and discovered a closet filled with clothing. Below the hanging clothes were a few drawers, which also had clothes. Frowning, he looked around. There was no food unit, so either Vader was just going to let him starve, or he wouldn't be here too long.

With a sigh, he dimmed the lights, stepped over to the bed, sat down, then lay on his side, his chained arms in front of him. The pillow was firm but comfortable, and so was the mattress.

There was a sudden rumble as the ship's engines roared into life. Luke closed his eyes and felt the shift in power as the ship lifted off from the floor of the hanger and flew into space. Five minutes later, he felt another shift as the ship went into hyperdrive.

Over the next 15 minutes, Luke felt the anxiety coiled in his body fade mostly away. He didn't know what the future held, which was unsettling, but he wasn't being actively tortured at the moment.

It was good to focus on one's blessings, as Aunt Beru had often said.

As for where he was going, and with who, that was truly a mystery. Perhaps Vader had metaphorically washed his hands of him and was sending him off to prison somewhere? Or (Luke repressed a shudder) Palpatine himself?

He forced himself to rein in his thoughts. He didn't know, and speculation was pointless. He hadn't been sleeping particularly well at night, so he might as well take this opportunity to rest up since exercising would be tough with his hands manacled.

Surprisingly, within 15 minutes, he was fast asleep.

In the cockpit of the _Naboo Queen_ , Darth Vader also relaxed as he sensed Luke slip into slumber. The child's uneasiness had been broadcasting loudly enough that he found it rather distracting.

Vader focused on his flight plan. The key was to make a series of jumps which would point Palpatine in the wrong direction.

He dropped the _Queen_ out of hyperspace, plotted a new course, and jumped again.

/-/

 _6 hours later_

Luke woke to the sound of his door sliding open. He was briefly disoriented. Where was he?

Oh, right. Mysterious ship, going somewhere mysterious. He sat up awkwardly and stiffly and then rolled to his feet as Vader stalked through the door.

For a long moment, father and son regarded one another and then the Dark Lord stepped closer and held up a code cylinder. Luke silently raised his hands and the manacles dropped off him. He rubbed his wrists in relief.

"Come," Vader ordered, placing a hand on Luke's shoulder and guiding him toward the door. Luke allowed himself to be directed into the entrance chamber of the ship, then forward to a small room on the starboard side. Luke blinked. It was a small but elegant dining facility. The transparisteel windows showed the whirl of hyperspace, and in front of the largest window was a table with chairs for 4, but with one place setting. As Luke entered the room, a blue protocol droid rather like C-3PO marched over and carefully poured stew into a bowl. It also poured water into a cup, and retreated into a corner.

"Sit down and eat, my son," Vader said, "You must be hungry."

Luke looked, and felt, puzzled. So now Vader was back to being parental? He obediently walked over and sat down at the table, picked up the spoon, and took a cautious bite. It was excellent. He noted, with a touch of wry humor, that the spoon was the only utensil available, presumably so he couldn't stab himself in the jugular with a fork or dull knife?

He took a couple more bites before looking up at Vader, who was standing against the opposite wall, arms crossed, regarding him.

Luke finished chewing before saying, "So you're just going to loom over me while I eat? Don't you have more important things to do?"

Vader seemed slightly amused, "Until we reach our destination, young one, I will be with you every second except when you are locked securely in your room."

Luke felt himself grow pale, "Why would you do that? I'm obviously no threat to you. And I can't escape the ship in hyperspace."

Vader shrugged his massive shoulders, "You are not only my son, but Padme's son. As such, you are genetically predisposed towards tempestuous and foolhardy actions. I do not wish you to be harmed through some foolish escape attempt, and therefore will be keeping a very close eye on you."

Luke opened his mouth in protest, then shut it. The accusations of being reckless were normal enough (Uncle Owen had said similar things at least a hundred times) but the tone was unusual. Vader did not sound angry, or disapproving. If anything, there might be a hint of fondness bleeding through the vocoder's filtering. And the reference to his mother was interesting. He had learned from the vids on the _Executor_ that his mother was beautiful, courageous, kind, intelligent, and a compelling politician. But had she also been a woman of reckless action on occasion?

Perhaps he'd find out.

He finished his meal in silence, then stood up as Vader moved toward him. Once again, he was shepherded out the door and forward through the ship, until they reached the cockpit. He didn't see any other crewmen on board, but perhaps they were hiding from Vader. He would, if he could.

Inside the cockpit, he was guided to the copilot's seat and pushed gently down.

He sank into it and looked around with intense interest. He was used to ships, used to the _Falcon_ with its random wiring, X-wings and Y-wings with their stripped down, utilitarian cockpits, and a myriad of other random ships as well. This ship was gorgeously unfamiliar. Every instrument was polished to perfection, and some of the instruments were not familiar.

He took his time gazing about before he finally met Vader's stare. The Dark Lord was seated in the captain's chair, and even sitting down he loomed over Luke.

"So," the youth asked, gesturing out the cockpit at hyperspace, "Where are we going?"

"We are in route to Vjun, in the Nuiri Sector. It will take 5 days for us to arrive there."

Luke winced at the thought of 5 days on this ship with Vader hovering over him, but forced himself to take a deep breath and continue.

"So what's on Vjun?"

"I have a castle there, known as Bast," the Dark Lord rumbled in response.

Luke's forehead wrinkled, "So it's, ah, like a vacation home or something?"

A strange noise emanated from his father. Luke flinched, then decided it might be construed as a chuckle.

"It is a fortress, my son," Vader replied, "And a heavily guarded one at that. The planet is a remote one with an unpleasant climate which boasts acid rain and frozen deserts. It is hardly a pleasant locale, but it is vital first step in my upcoming plans."

Luke forced himself to breathe through 4 cycles before he managed, "And what are your plans for me?"

There was a long pause, and then Vader said gravely, "My plans are complex and not entirely formed, but they are almost entirely designed with you in mind. In order to keep you safe, I have decided to leave the Empire."

Luke froze. Blinked. Considered. Ran those words through his mind. Did it again.

"What?" he croaked.

"I am leaving the Empire, as of eight hours ago when we left the _Executor_. I am taking you to Bast in order to retrieve some necessary items. We will stay there only a day or two, and then will move on to one of the remote retreats that I have prepared for myself. We will need to make frequent moves as Palpatine will pursue us once he realizes that I am deserting."

Luke's mind was swirling so much that he could hardly think straight.

Finally, "Why would you leave the Empire after almost 20 years, Father? And don't tell me it is about me, for galaxy's sakes. Why not just keep me locked up in that suite on the _Executor_ if you are so interested in keeping me around? It's not like I could escape."

The latter was said bitterly. He had been rather overwhelmed at how competently the Empire had captured him and kept him restrained.

"That was _not_ a viable option, Luke," Vader said, rising to his full height and beginning to pace in the confines of the cockpit, "Palpatine would find out about you, probably sooner rather than later. And while I acknowledge your courage, my son, your lack of training in the Force means that he would have no difficulty in conquering you, either in spirit or body."

"You think I'd turn to the Dark Side? Pledge my allegiance to the Empire?" Luke demanded angrily, "I wouldn't. I promise you that."

"Then he would kill you, my son," the Sith Lord responded starkly, "Or worse yet, order me to do it. And if I refused, he would kill you slowly and painfully in my presence. And then he would punish me most severely for my disobedience."

Luke frowned, his mind running down a different hyperspace lane, "Um, could he actually do that? I know he's your … your master, I guess, but is he really stronger than you?"

"Oh my son," his father shook his head in dark humor, "Do you imagine that I would serve a man whom I could easily best? Palpatine is a Sith Lord. The senior Sith Lord. His power is greater than my own. And while you are young, strong, and whole, with remarkable Force ability, you are largely unable to touch the Force, which means you are completely vulnerable."

He sat down on his chair again and clasped the arms with his prosthetic hands, "The last time I saw your mother, Luke, she urged me to leave everything behind so that we could raise our child together. I refused her. A few days ago, I realized that I needed to go away with you to keep you safe. Given your lack of training, the reality that you destroyed the Death Star, and Palpatine's rage over the loss of his pet planet destroyer, I decided that my best option was to flee with you. We will, as I said, need to move from place to place but I will keep you safe. I promise you that."

Luke sat still, mulling over these words. And then, the stark reality pressed down on him. He found himself on his feet.

"Wait a minute. Move from place to place? You don't mean, you can't mean, that you intend to just run forever? Do you? That's crazy, Father! That's no life. If you want to leave the Empire that's fine. No, better than fine. That's great! But I need to go back to the Alliance! We're in the middle of a war, Father, and I am not going to hide for the rest of my life when the whole galaxy is at war!"

"I am not giving you a choice, Luke," Vader responded softly.

Luke felt himself grow pale again, and he collapsed more than sat down, "Father, please. If you have any … any compassion for me, any … any lingering love for my mother, please don't do this. I can't live this way, running from place to place with you acting as my constant jailer. Please don't do this."

He hated the pleading in his voice, but he was truly horrified. Even torture and death seemed preferable. (Maybe.)

Vader waited for a long moment, then leaned back as if satisfied, "I do have another option, Luke."

"Like death?" Luke demanded, recovering sufficiently to become snarky.

"No," his father replied patiently, "If you become trained in the Force sufficiently that I am confident you have some chance of holding your own against the Emperor, I will allow you to leave."

The bile rose in Luke's throat. So that was it.

"I told you already, I will not learn the ways of the Dark Side," he snarled, only to be interrupted.

"No, not the Dark Side," Vader sounded positively weary, "I realize you are far too stubborn and idealistic to learn the Dark Ways. I will allow you to learn the ways of the Light Side."

Luke stared at him, incredulous, " _You_ are going to teach me the Jedi ways."

"I am incapable of doing so, Son, as I have been steeped in the Dark Side since your birth," Vader responded, shaking his masked head, "But I do have a number of Jedi holocrons at Bast. We will retrieve them from my castle and you can learn from them."

"What's a holocron?" Luke asked with a mixture of confusion and hope.

Vader huffed, "Holocrons are datacrons containing ancient lessons and valuable information in holographic form. Venerated teachers of the past imparted their most valuable knowledge for the students of the future. While the Jedi Order has largely been eradicated, much knowledge lives on in the form of the holocrons."

Luke stared at him intently for so long that Vader was aware of a twinge of discomfort.

"What is in this for you, Father?" his son finally asked quietly, "I thought you hated the Jedi. Why would you save holocrons in the first place, and why allow me to see them? Is it even possible to be trained using holocrons? I thought Jedi learned from living masters?"

Vader felt a mixture of frustration and respect at his son's pertinent questions, "I saved the holocrons because I felt it best to know as much about my enemy as possible. No one has ever learned from holocrons entirely, Luke, or at least as far as I know. However, you are remarkably strong with the Force so it might be possible. As for the Jedi … I did hate them. I do. But I hate Sidious more."

Luke's brow wrinkled in confusion, "Sidious?"

"Darth Sidious, also known as Emperor Palpatine. He lied about your mother's death. He told me that she had died with my child unborn. I would not have devoted myself so blindly, so thoroughly, to the Emperor, and the Empire, if I had known the truth."

Luke continued to stare at him, and Vader wondered uncomfortably if his son guessed there was more to the story of Padme's death. He wasn't ready to tell Luke the truth, that he had attacked his wife.

Even as he had attacked his son.

Which reminded him …

"There are some issues we need to address," Vader continued more firmly, "While I realize you are displeased with me in general and this situation in particular, I require that you treat me with respect as your father and yes, your jailer."

"I already told you I don't respect you, Father, because of the choices you made," Luke replied hotly.

There was a pause, and then his son's face grew solemn, his voice calmer, "Though I guess being choked at regular intervals would get old."

"I will be forced to keep you locked up in your cell most of the time if you continue to challenge me foolishly, Luke," the Dark Lord responded.

He rose to his feet, and stepped closer to Luke, who stood up nervously.

Vader reached out a gentle hand to grip his son's shoulder, "I do not wish to harm you, my son. But the reality is that my temper is uncertain. If you insist on challenging me, I will limit our interactions to reduce the chances that I will injure you in a rage. On the other hand, if you can treat me with reasonable respect, I believe we can coexist peacefully. I assume you would rather not be locked in your room 95% of the time."

Luke actually blanched slightly, "Uh, no, I'd rather not. Ok …," he sighed, "I'll do my best."

Vader nodded, pleased.

An hour later, Luke was back in his room, locked in, and Vader was sitting in his own small hyperbaric chamber with his helmet off.

The interactions with Luke had gone quite well, he thought. It had been a reasonable compromise to allow the boy access to the Jedi holocrons.

Assuming that Luke could indeed learn from them (and Vader thought he could – the boy was a nova in the Force) then it should only take a few months to move the child past his current abysmal knowledge of the Force to the place where he could feel its riptides at will.

And then, Vader could introduce Luke to the Dark Ways. The reality was that the Jedi were weak. They had chosen to disdain, to set aside, true power in the Force. Luke was intelligent. Surely, surely, once he was partially trained, he could be shown that he must learn to channel the power of rage and ambition and lust for power in order to defeat Sidious.

Surely then his son would willingly become his apprentice. And together, they could destroy Palpatine.

 _Author Note: Thanks again for your kind follows and reviews. And thank you to my dear husband who editing most awesomely. In the interests of keeping this fanfic reasonably short, I will either be condensing a full year of action into the next chapter, OR just skipping the next year altogether. I haven't quite decided. I know that will disappoint some of my loyal readers but I have_ Peculiar Dream _percolating and I need to get back to it. And I think it'll work, either way I do it. It'll be fun! Trust me!_


	6. Chapter 6

_The Naboo Queen_

 _In orbit around Vjun_

 _6 days later_

Darth Vader scanned the instruments one last time, and piloted the ship toward Bast Castle.

He had rarely been so cautious in approaching a planet, but he potentially had a really angry Sith Lord master targeting him and a young, impressionable, and frustrated son to look after.

He had to admit, however, that the last few days had gone surprisingly well. Luke was obviously making an effort to avoid antagonizing him, and they'd even managed to have three conversations about flying and ships which had been positively enjoyable. One of the most pleasant had been about the _Naboo Queen_. Vader had modeled her after Padme's ship, and Luke's eyes lit up like stars when they talked about Nabooian ship architecture and the _Queen_ 's augmented weaponry and shields to enable her to hold her own in a potential fight.

Spending time with his son was, Vader admitted to himself, an intensely emotional experience. To see this child with characteristics of both Anakin Skywalker and Padme Naberrie Skywalker was at times disconcerting, sometimes agonizing, but always compelling. The reality that he had missed 19 years of his son's life enraged him, but at least he had Luke now.

(He shuddered to realize that if their conversation on the _Executor_ had gone differently, he would have tortured and murdered his own son. His conviction that he had killed Padme and the child was so entrenched in his own soul that it taken an insistent medical droid and fortuitously available DNA data to convince him of the truth.)

Vader glanced over at Luke now, who was sitting in the co-pilot's chair, his eyes fixed on the dreary and oppressive landscape of Vjun. He glanced at the boy's wrists, which were manacled together. Luke had been rather sulky about this obvious precaution, but his father was not taking any chances when his own faculties had to be focused on the incoming landing.

He had scanned Vjun and Bast with great care, and he sensed no danger. However, he had to acknowledge that his Force abilities had been affected by the current whirlpool of confusion in his life. He had left his Dark Master of nearly 20 years, and allied himself with his young and hostile son. Palpatine, who had always been able to see layers within layers, might possibly have anticipated him, in which case something unpleasant could be waiting for them as they came in to land at Bast Castle. If so, they would need to make a hasty escape in the _Queen_ , and Luke was entirely capable of doing something stupid in an effort to break free from his father.

For yes, Luke still wanted to leave. The child's shielding was abysmal thus far, and Vader had seen and sensed him carefully scoping out the _Queen_ for potential weaknesses. It would be very unwise to lower his guard with his son, who maintained his intense loyalty to the Rebellion and his friends.

"It's not the most beautiful landscape," Luke said suddenly, breaking into Vader's thoughts, "But at least there isn't sand blowing all over. That's a plus."

"Sand is coarse and irritating and rough and gets into everything," Vader agreed, "I despise it."

He sensed the flare of amazement from Luke, "Yes, to all of that! Have you spent substantial time on a desert planet?"

The Dark Lord gazed at his son for a long moment.

"Yes, my son, I did. I spent the first 9 years of my life as a slave on Tatooine."

/-

 _5 days later_

 _The_ Naboo Queen

 _In hyperspace toward an 'unknown destination'._

 _(Everything went smoothly at Bast.)_

"So what do I do, exactly?" Luke demanded with a frown as he regarded the holocron sitting on a table on his quarters.

Vader inclined his head, "You open it with the Force. Then a hologram will appear with teaching."

Luke rolled his eyes in exasperation, "How do I open it?"

"I do not know," Vader replied a trifle smugly, "Because it is a Jedi holocron and therefore requires foolish dependence on calm and peace. A Sith holocron opens when one is angry or vengeful. It is simple."

Luke looked at him and, to his surprise, smiled, "Ok, thanks for the tip. Calm and peace. I'm in my room so I assume I can be alone? I think I can be more calm and peaceful if you aren't hovering over me."

Vader's lips thinned at his son's gratitude for his unintended advice, but nodded, "Very well, I will return in 3 hours so that you can eat your next meal."

His son eyed the holocron dubiously, "I hope I can get it open before then."

It took Luke 45 minutes.

/-

 _2 weeks later_

 _Mystery Base #2_

 _On a mysterious moon_

 _Outer Rim_

"Can I have 3 spoons, please, Father?" Luke asked.

Vader, who had been intently analyzing data from one of his deeply entrenched spies on Imperial Center, glanced up. Luke had finished his meal and his lonely spoon was hovering in the air while the youth focused intently on it.

The Dark Lord gestured and a locked cabinet opened. 3 spoons floated out and onto the table.

Luke smiled a little, and 5 minutes later all 4 spoons were floating.

"You are progressing well, my son," Vader said with approval.

"Thank you, Father," Luke replied. The boy looked thoughtfully at his father's datapad, "Anything you want me to know?"

"Your name is at the top of the Imperial Wanted List for destroying the Death Star," his father replied gravely.

Luke looked sad, "That must mean that one of my compatriots … broke under interrogation."

"Or a double agent discovered your name," Vader replied drily, "The Empire does have agents in the Rebellion."

"What about you?" his son asked after a moment, "How is the Emperor explaining your disappearance?"

Vader looked out over the barren landscape of the dead moon on which his hidden base was perched.

"He isn't," the Dark Lord rumbled softly, "There is speculation within the Imperial Court as to my whereabouts, but most court officials believe I am currently on a mission for the Emperor, and he has not cared to deny that."

Luke's right eyebrow rose, "Interesting."

"Indeed."

/-/

 _1 month later_

 _The_ Naboo Queen

 _Training room_

 _In hyperspace_

"Your lightsaber, son," Vader said, extending his hand toward Luke.

Luke's eyes widened, "You mean … you've had it all this time?"

"I retrieved it on the _Executor_ , yes," his father replied calmly, "From one of the agents who captured you on Sedratis."

The youth held out his hand and took it from Vader's large gauntleted palm, but stood silently staring at it.

"What is it?" the Sith demanded.

"Was this … was this really yours, once?" Luke asked hesitantly.

Vader cycled through 3 breaths before replying, "Yes, I lost it in my last battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi, a battle in which I was badly injured. Kenobi must have retrieved it and given it to you."

His son lifted his chin to look at his father challengingly, "And you really trust me with it?"

Vader shook his massive head, "No, I do not. I've installed a temporary circuit which reduces the maximum power significantly. It will successfully deflect bolts from seekers, but will not allow you to cut through doors or walls or … me."

Luke frowned slightly, "I would not hurt you, even if I could. Which of course I can't."

Vader knew the surprise bled through his vocoder filter, "Why not, my son?"

The boy's eyes widened, "Because you're my father, of course."

"I see," replied his father, who didn't, "Begin your exercises, Luke."

He retreated to a corner and watched with keen interest as his son began battling the seekers. Luke had progressed mightily in his ability to tap the Force and while his saber skills were poor, he had natural ability. It would not take long for the boy to progress substantially.

In the back of his mind, his subconscious pondered his son's words. Luke had told him at their first meeting that he had always longed for a father. While their interactions since then always contained an underlying tension, Vader could sense that Luke was growing attached to him.

Which was all to the good, wasn't it? If Luke became firmly attached, he would surely be more easily swayed to his father's side.

(A small part of Vader was shouting in the corner of his brain. It was telling him that he was growing attached to his son as well.)

/-

 _2 months later_

 _The middle of the night_

 _Another hidden base_

 _A random jungle world_

 _Outer Rim_

Vader was asleep in his hyperbaric chamber when there was a sudden Force surge.

He was awake in an instant, had his helmet on 30 seconds later, and raced down the corridor toward Luke's room at a ground-eating pace, causing the hapless droids working the base to scatter in terror.

Rapidly, the Sith held the code cylinder to Luke's room and the door slipped open.

Luke was standing in the center of the room, facing the door. He looked entirely fine, if slightly rumpled from being woken up in the middle of his sleep cycle.

"What is wrong?" Vader demanded.

Luke's eyes were a mixture of wonder, disbelief, excitement, and trepidation.

"Look, Father, it's Ben!" he said, gesturing.

Vader spun around to see a blue, ghostly form standing in the corner, arms folded.

"Hello, Anakin," the specter of Obi-wan Kenobi said gravely.

/-

 _25 minutes later_

"And you left me to die!" Vader roared angrily, pacing back and forth, "Burning up in Mustafar's lava fields. You didn't even have the kindness, the mercy, to put me out of my misery. You, who said you loved me …"

He finally trailed off. He had been snarling in rage for the last 25 minutes, leaving Luke wide eyed with shock and Kenobi looking more and more grieved.

"I am sorry, Anakin," Obi-Wan said softly.

"I am no longer Anakin, Obi-Wan Kenobi," he retorted, "Anakin Skywalker died when my limbs were sliced off by your blade, when the lava burned its way into my flesh, my lungs dying in the poisonous fumes …"

"Please stop, Father," Luke cried out, his eyes now filled with tears, "I just can't bear it anymore."

His son moved forward, his face pale with horror, as he placed his smaller hands on his father's massive arms, "I'm so sorry, Father. For all that you've done, for all the evil that you've inflicted, I grieve at how much you have suffered."

This, not unnaturally, brought Vader to a stuttering halt.

And then, for reasons that he couldn't quite fathom, he started arguing, "No, my son, I did deserve it. I attacked your mother. You didn't know that, did you? She urged me to come away with her and when I saw Obi-Wan I thought she had betrayed me …"

"I stowed away on her ship," Kenobi interpolated, grief in his ghostly eyes.

"I know that now," Vader pulled away from his son, unable to look at the boy's bright blue eyes, "I turned on her, choked her in a rage, attacked my angel who loved me, who was carrying my child."

He walked numbly to the window of Luke's room and stared out at the jungle encroaching on the hidden base, "When I woke up in agony, encased in this black prison of a life support suit, Palpatine told me that I had killed her and the child. And I thought I had. I knew I had for 19 years …"

"Until I found you on the _Executor_ , my son," he said, turning toward Luke, his voice choked with emotion, "Until I found he had lied to me."

He turned now to Kenobi and advanced menacingly, though the ghost looked entirely unfazed, "You hid him from me, my own son! You kidnapped him and left him to be raised on that accursed planet. How could you do that to him? And to me? He was my son. He should have been raised in privilege and luxury, not on that desolate sand heap …"

"And what would have Darth Sidious done with your Force strong infant son?" Kenobi interrupted.

Vader stopped. Pondered. Sighed.

"Something evil." he admitted.

/-

 _2 weeks later_

 _The Naboo Queen_

 _In hyperspace_

A surge of thrilled delight brought Vader out of the cockpit, where he was analyzing more data from Imperial Center spies, to Luke's quarters.

Luke was seating on the floor, gazing with rapt excitement at a holocron. Vader stepped forward with interest. He knew this particular holocron had proven a challenge for Luke, and that his son had been trying to open it for 6 weeks. Obviously, the child had finally succeeded.

"Look, Father," the boy exclaimed, his eyes shining with excitement, "It's you."

Vader froze in shock, stared with incredulity.

It was indeed him, or his former self! Good galaxy, he remembered now. He had indeed recorded a set of holographic recordings on lightsaber training combat.

He found himself muttering various imprecations in Huttese.

"Father, you are so amazing," Luke said excitedly, his face lit up with awe and pride.

/

 _1 month later_

 _Another hidden base_

 _Somewhere hidden_

 _Vader's hyperbaric chamber_

"He's growing very strong in the Light Side of the Force, Anakin," Kenobi said, flickering into sight like an enthusiastic hologram.

Vader sighed, didn't even bother arguing about his former master's use of his former name.

"I know," he acknowledged wearily, "His ability to learn from the holocrons is most impressive."

"He's learning from you as well, obviously," Kenobi pointed out, "You've been sparring with him regularly and he's picked up a great deal from you. I seriously believe he will be as good with the lightsaber as you are if he survives that long."

Vader tensed at the mere suggestion of Luke's death. He gestured and his helmet lowered over his head and stood up. He found it uncomfortable to be sitting when Kenobi's ghost was standing.

"I will keep him safe, Kenobi," he snarled.

His former master tilted his head slightly, compassionately, "You can't run forever, Anakin. Even now, Luke's growing brightness is changing the very fabric of the Force. The Emperor knows of his existence and surely must know he is being trained. At some point, he will put the pieces together and realize you are together, if he hasn't done so already."

Vader muttered something impolite and swept out of the chamber, leaving Kenobi's ghost behind.

"You will have to do something about Sidious eventually," the blue form called out after him.

 _/-_

 _2 weeks later_

 _The_ Naboo Queen

 _In hyperspace_

"You want to kill the Emperor?" Luke demanded in surprise.

"Yes," his father replied, resolutely.

A pause.

"Obviously I'm in favor, but how?" Luke asked quietly.

The Dark Lord closed his eyes and contemplated before looking at his beloved child, "I'm working on a plan, my son."

/-

 _1 week later_

 _The cockpit of the_ Naboo Queen

"So why did you let Luke study the Jedi holocrons?" Kenobi asked curiously, "I thought you hated practitioners of the Light Side of the Force."

Vader kept his eyes on the whirls of hyperspace.

"I believed that once he was partially trained, I could convince him that the Dark Side was more powerful, that it was the better path," he said wearily.

"I hate to be rude, Anakin, but that wasn't a great plan if you really wanted your son to Fall," Kenobi said mildly.

"I know," Vader replied thoughtfully.

He turned now and stared at his former friend, "But I find … that I do not mind. I am not sure that the Light Side is as weak as I previously believed. Even if it is, it promotes compassion and yes, love, whereas love is an anathema to the Dark Side. My son ..."

His rumbling voice stuttered to a halt.

Kenobi smiled slightly, "Loves you. Yes, he does."

/-

 _2 months later_

 _The_ Naboo Queen

 _In orbit around a random planet in a random star system_

 _Luke's quarters_

Vader sent out a questing tendril and his son replied telepathically, "Come in, Father."

By now, Vader trusted Luke enough to leave his quarters unlocked, and he also had sufficient respect for him that he chose not to enter the boy's room uninvited unless he sensed danger.

Luke was sitting on a chair, staring at a holoscreen. The video was one of Padme; Vader recognized it as one of her Senate speeches against slavery.

(A slight twinge, there. He had hated slavery as a slave, hated it as a Jedi. And now he was indirectly responsible for the subjugation of countless non-humans through his efforts as Sidious's enforcer.)

Luke turned to look at his father, his eyes faraway.

Vader waited patiently. He knew that look and knew that Luke was processing something.

"Father," his son asked abruptly, "Did my mother have any siblings?"

The Dark Lord blinked. This was not a question he had expected.

He sat down on a chair he had installed in the room, one strong enough to easily support his large frame.

"Your mother had … has one sister, Sola Naberrie. She lives on Naboo with her husband and they have two daughters."

"Hmmm," Luke murmured, staring at the screen again, "How old are my, I guess my cousins?"

"They are a few years older than you are, Luke," Vader said after a moment. He remembered meeting both children when he was yet Anakin Skywalker. The children had been young, but obviously older than his son.

Luke ran a thoughtful hand over his mouth, "Ok."

"So you are curious about your maternal family?" Vader inquired.

"Kind of? But there is something else. But it's probably nothing," Luke said with a sigh, "In fact, it is kind of stupid. And it has to do with someone you don't like. So yeah, never mind."

Vader frowned. If Luke was seeing something, or sensing something, it was best his father knew about it.

"I promise to stay calm," Vader stated, hoping he could fulfill that promise.

Luke looked back at the holoscreen, obviously uncertain, then took a deep breath as if bracing himself.

"I know this is crazy, Father, but the first time I saw my mother on vid I had this weird feeling like ... like I had seen her before. And I guess maybe I did, as a baby, but like more recently. And today, I figured it out. She reminds me of Princess Leia. Or Leia reminds me of Mother. Not just in her looks, but in her speech patterns and even some of her mannerisms. I know you don't like Leia but don't you think she looks like Mother?"

Luke gestured slightly with one hand and the holoscreen image shifted. One of Princess Leia Organa's Senate speeches began. Vader frowned under his mask.

"Where did you get Organa's speech?" he demanded.

Luke looked a little surprised, "It was in the same file as this one of Mother's. I think the speeches were bundled because Mother and Leia were both speaking against slavery. There are 3 other speeches as well, by other Senators talking about slavery. One is by Bail Organa."

Vader relaxed. He hadn't known that, but it made sense. Palpatine had kept a careful eye on those Senators who spoke up against his policies, and he remembered now that he had pulled this particular set of files from a top secret server because Padme had been listed. He had never bothered to look at the other holospeeches.

Organa did look like Padme, truth be told. He had noticed that long ago. But …

"House Organa is not related to House Naberrie, Luke," he said patiently.

"Oh, I know that," Luke explained, "But Leia's adopted. So yeah, I was just wondering if by any chance Mother had a sister who had a child she had to give up for adoption, or a cousin who did. Something like that. It would be a strange coincidence if Leia and I were related, but she really is so much like Mother in some ways. Like I said, they even share some obvious mannerisms."

His son sighed, "But I guess not. Never mind, it was a silly idea."

Vader held very still. The Force was singing its dark melodies to him. Trying to tell him something …

He stepped over to the holoterminal and tapped in his private security code. While he trusted Luke far more than he had when the youth was first captured, he certainly didn't think the boy could avoid the temptation of accessing the Holonet if given the opportunity. And since they were on the run, that would be most unwise as it would increase the risk of being traced.

He frowned at the file on Leia Organa of Alderaan. He hadn't been aware of her adoption by the Organas. Her birthdate …

"Her birthdate is 4 months after the original Empire Day. I can do some surreptitious checking as to whether any of Padme's extended family could have borne a child in that time frame. There was much upheaval during those times, and many deaths. Perhaps, yes, one of Padme's relatives could not care for a baby girl. Bail Organa was a close friend of Padme's, and by extension an associate with the Naberrie family."

(And he had stood by while Tarkin ordered the destruction of Bail Organa, and Alderaan. What would Padme have thought of such wanton brutality, the extinction of an entire world and its people?)

"Thanks, Father," Luke said gratefully, "But you'll need to look 4 months earlier. Leia actually has a birthdate right around mine. For some reason the Organas changed her birth date in the official records, but Leia overheard them talking about bringing her home to the palace within the context of current events of the time, and she figured out it was a few months earlier. We went on a long hyperspace journey after the destruction of the Death Star and started trading family stories. She was really tired and went on and on and on about how she put the pieces together about her real birth date. Not that it really matters that much, I guess, but it was important to her to know the truth."

The singing of the Force grew louder, more clamorous.

He turned to his son, a combination of excitement, thrill and yes, dread building in his heart.

Luke frowned, obviously picking up on his father's distress. He stood up and walked closer, "Father, what is it?"

"You are saying," Vader said carefully, "That Leia Organa was born about the same time as you were."

Luke nodded, "Yeah. Within a few days, we think."

Vader turned back to the holoterminal. Leia Organa's face was frozen on it, her beautiful countenance passionate, her hand outstretched.

Dear galaxy.

"Twins," he said out loud, and the Force heaved and churned, confirming it.

"Uh, what?" Luke said in total bewilderment.

"Leia Organa …" he stuttered, firmed his voice, "She is your twin sister."

Luke blinked, took a step back, let his jaw drop.

"Um, well obviously that can't be," his son said indignantly.

The Dark Lord turned and gazed at his son, "Because …?"

"You would have known if Mother was carrying twins, right? Everyone has scans these days. No one would have missed a second child. And you must have done a Force probe. Even I could probably figure out if a woman was carrying more than one baby."

Vader began pacing. Part of his brain was shutting down from the amazement, and yes, horror, of this new discovery. Because on the Death Star, he had tortured Leia Organa for hours, had attempted to break down her truly impressive shielding with his own power in the Force.

And how had he missed that? Her mental shielding was ridiculously strong for a mere girl of 19.

He found himself explaining to Luke, "Your mother's pregnancy was a secret so she did not have a scan for fear the news would leak out prematurely. I only found out about her pregnancy when she was 6 months along, as I had been fighting battles for many months away from Coruscant, where the Senate served in those days."

He turned now and moved closer to Luke, put his hands out, touched his smaller shoulders, "And I deliberately avoided using the Force to probe our child, as Padme was most insistent that I not do so because she wanted the gender to be a surprise. We argued about it, playfully … I insisted that the child was a girl, and she that the child was a boy."

He turned now, dropped his son's hands, stared at the screen, "And we were both right."

"That seems like quite a leap, Father," Luke said politely, "I mean, I adore Leia and I would love to have her as my sister but a mysterious missing twin seems almost too archetypal."

Vader was suddenly uncertain. Perhaps Luke was right? But there was one person who would definitely know the truth.

There was a flicker in the corner, and Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared, looking agitated.

"Anakin, Luke," the specter said with forced calm, "What is happening? There was a sudden, great disturbance in the Force."

Both men, a former Skywalker and a current one, turned, stepped near him, glared at him.

"Ben, is Leia Organa my twin sister?" Luke demanded.

Kenobi's jaw dropped as a look of alarm raced across his face.

"Don't even think of trying to disappear, Obi-Wan!" Vader thundered, "We demand to know the truth."

The specter twitched, looked left, looked right, looked down, looked up.

"Yes, she is," he admitted.

 _Author Note: Ha ha ha! I just love reveals._


	7. Chapter 7

_Months later_

 _The 21_ _st_ _Empire Day_

 _Millennium Falcon_

 _In outer reaches of the Alderaan system, in space near Delaya_

Han Solo stepped into the main cabin of the _Falcon_ and stopped. For a long moment, he regarded Leia Organa. She was sitting comfortably on one of the benches, intently reading a datapad in her hands. She was wearing a white pantsuit, her hair was twisted in a casual braid and her legs were stretched out in front of her. She looked relaxed. Han smiled slightly to himself. She worked far too hard and rarely had down time, so he was happy for this enforced break, however short.

In the background, mounted against a wall, was a large holoscreen showing an Imperial talking head. Solo made his way over to the princess and sat down next to her.

"So, old Dressellian Prune Face still hasn't made an appearance?" he asked.

Leia looked up and smiled a little, then glanced at the holoscreen.

"No, 2 hours late on his big announcement now. The Imperial hosts are looking rather strained at this point. Palpatine is such a pompous egotist. I'm sure he's waiting just for the pleasure of having all those hapless courtiers and troops stand around waiting on him."

Han nodded idly, "Any idea what this big announcement is about? I'm all for a little break before our mission to Delaya, but it is hard to believe that it will be vital for us to know it immediately, whatever it is."

Leia sighed and put her datapad down. She put her hand out, and Han took it. It was so small in his own work-hardened one.

"It might be about Vader," she said quietly, "He disappeared more than a year ago and while Palpatine has steadily refused to make an announcement, at this point most people assume he is dead or … discarded, or something. If the Emperor has gotten rid of Vader, he may announce the ascension of a new second-in-command. And if so, we need to know immediately. It might have an effect on our mission to Delaya."

Han nodded and sighed. Vader's disappearance was all to the good, but it had coincided with the disappearance of Luke Skywalker.

Their friend had been captured more than a year ago on Sedratis and vanished. With no word of him, and no obvious intel leak from him, the assumption was that he had been quietly executed after refusing to provide information.

(It haunted Han, some nights, wondering how long his friend had held out before the end. And sometimes Leia's eyes grew weary and sad, and Han wondered if she was following the same grim hovertrain of thought.)

Though against that was the reality that Luke's name was still at the top of the Most Wanted charts.

The whole thing was puzzling at some level, but mostly it was heart breaking. Han had admired and liked Luke Skywalker a great deal, even though they'd only known each other for a few short months.

And Leia, too, had bonded tightly with the young farmboy from Tatooine. His disappearance had drawn his remaining friends closer together, and Han was grateful that he and Leia were now close friends. Maybe even more than friends. But he wished it hadn't come at such a cost.

It was a war, and in war good people died. But it still hurt like crazy.

"Ok, looks like the Emperor is finally going to grace us with his august presence," Leia said sarcastically, breaking into his thoughts.

She touched the remote and turned the sound back on.

/

 _Imperial Press Room_

 _Imperial Palace_

 _Imperial Center_

Cray Shifton took a deep, cleansing breath as Relinka Spetzv, dressed in dark blue with matching blue hair, rattled on next to him.

He seriously thought he was close to going mad, but he was grateful for his co-host, who could and did spew out inane commentary in her sleep.

Two plus hours waiting for the Emperor, after an entire night without sleep because yes, it had taken that long to prepare the lighting and the audio and the Press Room to the liking of Palpatine's yapping sycophant of a media director.

And while the Emperor had kept them waiting in past years, he had never delayed this long. The only succor was that Cray was certain Sate Pestage was equally frustrated. The Imperial Grand Vizier had been waiting with increasing impatience in an alcove next to the small but elegant Imperial Broadcasting Center where Relinka was currently holding forth about the glories of the Empire in general and Emperor Palpatine in particular. Shifton knew Pestage was waiting for a signal, and then the doors halfway up the wall behind them would open dramatically, and a ramp would lower, and the Imperial Royal guards would stalk down, and the Emperor would appear in all his glory, and say a few words.

Shifton hoped it was a few words, anyway.

And then, assuming nothing went wrong and he and Relinka were still alive, Shifton would go home and get smashingly drunk. He really did not like interacting with the Emperor in any way; the man, ancient and wrinkly and skeletal, totally gave him the creeps.

Finally! A small beep sounded in his right ear and he caught Relinka's eye. She finished her glowing accolades of the latest black octagonal holograph being displayed in Palpatine's personal art museum, and turned it over to Shifton.

Cray turned toward the camera and gazed solemnly at the billions upon billions of viewers watching, "It is my honor to now introduce Imperial Grand Vizier Sate Pestage. The Grand Vizier!"

He and Relinka stepped back and Pestage strode forward, turned to the vids, and began his prepared speech.

Once again, the glories of the Empire were touched upon, and then Pestage spent five apparently heartfelt minutes describing the man who would be shortly appearing. Emperor Palpatine. Glorious leader. Wise counselor. Benevolent master. Powerful savior of the galaxy after the devastation of the Clone Wars and the evil plots of the malevolent Jedi.

Blah blah blah, Cray thought irritably.

"And now, fellow citizens of the galaxy, it is my honor, my pleasure, my privilege to introduce our most august Majesty, Emperor Palpatine."

They all turned toward the back of the reception hall. The door halfway up the wall opened, the ramp lowered automatically, and …

A tall, grim figure appeared at the top. Two meters tall, black robes, heavy black mask, rhythmic respirations, and a lightsaber at his waist.

The Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader.

Shifton felt his eyes widen and nearly pop out, even as he heard Relinka gasp beside him.

Cray shot a stunned look at Pestage. The Grand Vizier was looking pale as well, and it was obvious from his dilated eyes and slightly slackened jaw that he had not expected this twist in the usual Empire Day ceremonies.

Vader strode down the ramp with his arms behind his back, the long cloak flowing behind him.

Shifton noted, absently, that no red guards were with the Dark Lord, but they would no doubt descend the ramp when the Emperor appeared.

When Vader reached the bottom, he stepped forward until he loomed a meter from the Grand Vizier.

There was an awkward pause. Shifton was not saying a word, no way. And Relinka, for all her predilection for incessant talking, apparently had the sense to be quiet too.

Pestage finally spoke, "Lord … Lord Vader, this is truly a … surprise … I mean, a pleasure, and a privilege for the many viewers of this most glorious celebration of Empire Day. We have been deprived of the honor of your presence for far too long. Perhaps you have a message for the galaxy before the Emperor arrives?"

"Indeed, I do," the Dark Lord rumbled loudly and clearly, "It is a _great_ pleasure for me to announce to the galaxy that the reign of Emperor Palpatine is over, permanently."

The Sith moved his right hand from behind his back and raised it up. In his large prosthetic hand was an object, wrapped in a black cloth. Vader's hand unclasped, and the object floated in mid-air, untouched by human hand.

Shifton found himself filled with a combination of excitement and dread. Suddenly, hideously, the black cloth fell away, revealing a severed head. Cray sucked in a shocked breath. The head had furious yellow eyes. A thoroughly wrinkled, ancient, and ugly face. Short gray hair. It couldn't be. It couldn't be …

"Emperor Palpatine is dead!" Vader announced dramatically, "Long live Emperor Vader!"

Cray Shipton heard a soft shriek escape his lips even as the world wobbled in his vision.

He fainted with one last thought in his head.

This was ratings gold.

/-

 _The Millennium Falcon_

Han and Leia stared in disbelief at the screen for more than a minute.

"Is that …" Han began

"What we think it is?" Leia finished.

Chewbacca, who had come in during Vader's stunning announcement, howled in excitement.

/-/

 _Emperor Vader's palace_

 _A couple of hours later_

"Wasn't that kind of dramatic, Father?" Luke Skywalker asked.

"The general populace appreciates drama, my son," Vader responded absently, busily analyzing intelligence reports, "It gives them something to talk about."

"Yeah, I'm guessing your showing the severed head of your previous master on the Holonet will give people something to talk about."

Vader nodded, "That was most definitely my intention, Luke. It is best to strike fear into those who might oppose us foolishly, and nothing imparts visceral fear like a severed head."

Luke frowned a little, "It's too bad it was cauterized, really. Wouldn't dripping blood be even more dramatic and scary?"

Vader chuckled, a strange sound through the vocoder, "Perhaps. There are limits even to what we can do. Lightsabers are not messy weapons."

"Oh well," Luke said, then yawned hugely even as he rubbed his arms.

Vader's attention focused in like a laser beam on his son, "Has your pain increased, Son?"

The boy looked exasperated, "I'm fine, Father. You had me checked out. He only hit me a few times."

Vader stared at Luke directly. It was true that his son had not been bombarded with Force Lightning for long, and furthermore that Vader's private med droid had checked him thoroughly and applied the appropriate treatment. It was hard not to worry, though.

"Go to bed, my son," he finally said, "It has been a very busy and exhausting day, and tomorrow will be strenuous as well."

"Ok. I love you, Father."

Vader hesitated. He had never responded in kind but …

"I love you as well, my son."

He was rewarded with a surprised smile of delight, and his son patted his armored shoulder as he wandered off to his sleeping quarters next door.

/-/

 _Main Conference Room_

 _Rebel Cruiser Liberty_

 _Gama System_

 _2 days later_

"As far as we can tell based on analysis of the holo, it truly was Emperor Palpatine's decapitated head," Major Blet said firmly to the group of Alliance leadership around her.

There was a long pause, and then Mon Mothma shook her head incredulously.

"Well, I admit I did not see _that_ one coming," she murmured, then shook herself, "General Cracken, please give us an update on the current situation on Imperial Center and the Core?"

Cracken rose to his feet, "Emperor Vader has consolidated power by arresting and possibly executing many of Palpatine's inner circle of advisors. A number of Star Destroyers arrived in orbit around Imperial Center within minutes of Vader's dramatic announcement of his coup, which leads us to believe that he has been planning this takeover for some time. There is unrest in the Rim Worlds as battle fleets under a variety of admirals determine their loyalty. With the galaxy in upheaval, the Alliance has new opportunities. We will continue to gather information as rapidly as possible for Alliance High Command."

"Thank you, General Cracken," Mothma said, "Leia, you have something to say?"

Leia hesitated, then spoke, "Do we have any idea where Vader has been the last year? Has any information about his whereabouts during that time been uncovered."

Cracken shook is head, "None at all, your Highness. Planning an uprising, obviously. Why?"

The princess raised a hand to cover her eyes, "It's just that … he disappeared around the same time as Skywalker. I was hoping for some closure."

Mon Mothma exchanged looks with Cracken and then reached out a gentle hand, "I'm sorry, Princess …"

The door slid open, revealing an aide.

"Members of the Council, the Emperor is making an announcement on Imperial Center."

/-

 _Darth Vader's Palace_

 _Media Center_

 _Imperial Center_

Emperor Vader stood tall and stately, staring directly at the camera, disdaining such plebian props as a podium.

"There will be a number of substantial changes in the structure and goals of my government compared to that of the former Emperor," he said in his well known bass voice, "Details of these modifications will be promulgated by my advisors and staff in the next few weeks.

"On this occasion, however, I wish to make an important personal announcement. I loyally served Emperor Palpatine for 19 years as his second-in-command. It was a little more than a year ago that I discovered Emperor Palpatine lied and betrayed to me about the most important event in my life. It was this deception, this treachery, which led to my decision to destroy the Emperor and take the throne."

"Sentient Beings of the Galaxy, it is my honor, and my privilege, to introduce my _living_ heir and son. I present to you, Prince Luke Skywalker."

/-

 _Main Conference Room_

 _Rebel Cruiser Liberty_

 _Gama System_

"Moons of Iago," Mothma murmured.

"I can't believe it," Rieekan said in an incredulous voice.

"Oh Luke! Luke!" Leia cried out in a heartbroken voice.

/-

 _Leia Organa's Quarters_

 _Rebel Cruiser Liberty_

 _Gama System_

 _7 days later_

Leia looked up as her door chimed. With a sigh, she rolled to her feet and opened the door. Han stood there.

She smiled at him, and he at her even as he noted the dark circles under her eyes, the additional pallor of her face. The last seven days had been exhausting and stressful for everyone, but most of all for Leia.

Because of Luke Skywalker. Because the youth they had both liked, even loved, was someone different now.

"Come in," she said with a welcoming gesture, and sat down on the couch. Han dropped beside her.

Leia found herself looking at a still of Luke for the hundredth time in the last week. It was taken from the press conference announcing his position as the Heir to the Emperor, as Darth Vader's _son._ He looked older, more muscular, but underneath it all …

"He still looks so much like our Luke," she murmured softly.

She put her hand out to clasp Han's, "It just doesn't seem right. He should look different somehow. Evil or something …"

Han hesitated, trying to think of something to say. Finally realized there was nothing that would help. Instead, he let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her.

Not for the first time this week, Leia Organa cried.

An insistent beep interrupted her sobs. Han, exasperated, stabbed at the com with his finger, "The princess is busy!"

There was a startled pause, and then the voice of Mothma's aide, "Captain Solo, I have orders from Mon Mothma that the princess needs to attend an emergency meeting in 10 minutes."

Han scowled hideously, though of course he couldn't project that grimace through the com, "Is it necessary?"

Another pause, then the subdued voice of the aide, "We have updated information on the situation on Kashyyyk."

Leia and Han exchanged worried glances. Four days ago, an Imperial Fleet had moved in over Kashyyyk and there had been a complete communications black out ever since.

"I need you to get me into this meeting, Leia," Solo said abruptly, "If it's bad, I want to be the one to break it to Chewie."

Leia rose to her feet and went into the refresher to wash the tears off her face, "I will make it happen, Han, I promise."

/-

 _The Liberty_

 _Conference Room #4_

 _10 minutes later_

Mon Mothma wore her professional look, but underneath her stiff demeanor Leia sensed amazement, "This is Major Klinder. He's been a double agent for the Alliance for the last year, and was stationed on Kashyyyk. He just escaped the blockade and has provided us with much needed intel. First, let's run the vid, Major, and then we'll discuss the situation."

"Members of the Council, Captain Solo, this is a secret holo taken 4 days ago in Governor Tarkin's main office. Major Klinder was able to install spybots there some time ago."

Leia heard herself gasp, "Tarkin?"

Klinder nodded even as he rolled his eyes, "Yes, a _distant_ relative of the Grand Moff who died on the Death Star. He legally changed his name in an attempt to use the Tarkin name for advancement. Not as smart, but just as cruel as his more famous namesake."

Solo lifted a cynical eyebrow, "Well it seems to have worked. He's been running Kashyyyk like his own private fiefdom for a couple of years now."

"Not anymore," Klinder said cryptically, and started the holovid.

/-

 _Governor Melton Tarkin's main office_

 _Imperial Base Prime_

 _Kashyyyk_

 _4 days_ earlier

Tarkin's aide, Leuitenant Yan, spoke gravely, "There is still considerable upheaval on Imperial Center, Governor, but it is unlikely that it will affect the situation on Kashyyyk in the near future. The Empire will still need wroshyr trees and food for the troops. We should continue our usual operations …"

The door to Tarkin's office suddenly slid open and the four men at the table turned abruptly even as the 6 guards lifted their weapons.

Governor Tarkin was on his feet an instant later, "How dare you break into my private meet …"

His voice trailed away as he observed the intruder.

A short, slim, blond youth, dressed in black, with a lightsaber hanging at his waist. Really a mere boy, and not menacing at all. Except that Tarkin recognized this young man. Prince Luke Skywalker.

So yes, not personally menacing, but behind this stripling was the most powerful man in the Empire, Emperor Darth Vader. This was quite an interruption, and an unwelcome one at that.

General Tarkin had a good thing going here on Kashyyyk and the last thing he needed was someone from Imperial Center to interfere. And especially not the Heir.

Obviously he couldn't blurt those words out at the moment. He'd come a long way in this galaxy by using honeyed phrases at the right time.

"Your Royal Highness," he exclaimed as soon as he had regained his balance, "This is an unexpected pleasure. We are honored by your presence."

Skywalker took three more steps forward and then spoke, his voice cold, "You may dispense with the pleasantries, Governor. I'm here to shut down your operation."

Tarkin blinked, "I don't understand, your Highness. I assure you that my men are working as hard as they can. If the Wookie slaves are not performing to the Emperor's satisfaction, we can provide additional incentives to them. I do warn you, however, that they are nearly working at their physical limit, and we are already losing a substantial number to illness and overwork. If we are to get even more production, we may need to increase the food supply to the slaves slightly …"

"No," the youth's voice broke in, with durasteel in his tones, "No, I mean that your governorship is at an end. The work camps are at an end. Slavery, on Kashyyyk, is at an end. I, with my father's approval, am here to free the Wookiees."

There was an incredulous pause. Tarkin stared at that young face even as he heard the gasps of his three underlings, even as he heard the uneasy shifting of the six guards around him. The guards were his own, and loyal only to him …

The Governor prided himself on his quick decision making. Obviously the new Emperor was changing the status quo in unacceptable ways, and the Heir would be a perfect hostage to convince Vader to accede to Tarkin's demands.

"Take him," he ordered his troops, "Set for stun."

There was only the slightest hesitation as the guards switched to stun and raised their blasters.

That hesitation was more than enough for Skywalker, however. Instantly, the lightsaber was off his waist and in hand, turned on, buzzing blue. The blade moved faster than the eye could see, blocking stun shots, cutting through bodies, through limbs. Tarkin stumbled back in terror toward the com in an attempt to call for help, but before he could reach it, something grabbed him by the throat. He clutched at his esophagus, struggled for air. Just as unconsciousness beckoned, the unseen grip eased and he found himself on the floor, gasping, heaving, relishing in the oxygen entering his lungs.

When he rolled to a sitting position, it was to find his guards dead, as well as two of his councilors. The only one still alive, Lieutenant Yan, was on his feet, hands up, eyes wide with terror.

The door to the office was open now, and several unfamiliar officers had moved in.

"Are you injured, your Highness?" inquired a man with the officer bars of a Commander.

"Of course not, Tregast," Skywalker said with a smirk, "In fact, I think I'm insulted that you would even ask."

The officer, who had been looking nervous, looked more nervous briefly, then relaxed as Skywalker's smile broadened.

"Just making sure, sir," the Commander responded, "The Emperor made it clear that your well-being was my highest priority."

The youth sighed, "He's rather over protective. I definitely can handle this lot."

"This is absurd," Tarkin managed to gasp as he rose shakily to his feet, "Ridiculous! The Wookiees are barely sentient, and their sole reason for existence is to serve their betters …"

Again, the breath seized in his throat.

This time, it was released more quickly.

"The Wookiees," the Heir said with narrowed eyes, "Are as sentient as you and I, and deserve the same rights to life and liberty. I would kill you for your crimes, Governor, but we may need your retinal scan. Captain, see to it that the governor is kept alive and unharmed until I decide we no longer need him."

Skywalker turned to Yan, whose eyes were, if possible, even wider now.

"Name?"

"Uh, Lieutenant Yan, your Highness."

"Well, Lieutenant," the youth said with a casual slap on the man's shoulder, "You have a couple of options. I can lock you up, or you can help us by providing intel on the day to day operations here on Kashyyyk."

The lieutenant didn't hesitate for a moment, "It would be my honor to assist you, your Highness."

/-

 _The Liberty_

 _Conference Room #4_

 _4 days_ later

The spyvid faded to black and the members of the Alliance Council stared blankly at the dark screen for a full minute.

Solo broke out of his stunned reverie first and gazed slowly around the table. All but Klinder still looked like poleaxed shaaks. Klinder had no doubt seen the vid before, but he still looked amazed.

"So," Solo said, clearing his throat to get everyone's attention, "Can I ask what happened after this vid? Do you know, Major?"

Klinder cast a surprised look at this man dressed in Corellian bloodstripes as opposed to Alliance officer garb, but spoke nonetheless, "I was on Kashyyyk for the next two days. The work for the slaves ceased. Food allotments were increased substantially and medical treatment began for the ill. Skywalker has been tearing around meeting with various Imperial officials and Wookiee leaders, and is working to get families who had been torn apart back together again. "

"What about the collars?" Solo demanded.

Mothma roused herself from her apparent reverie, "Collars?"

"Shock collars," Klinder explained with grief on his face, "Set high to control the Wookiees. Set so high, indeed, that it killed some of them when they rebelled, or even failed to perform with sufficient speed and strength. They haven't been removed yet though they were entirely disabled on Skywalker's orders."

Rieekan frowned, "Why not remove them entirely if the Empire truly is freeing them?"

"I believe," Klinder said gravely, "That the process of removing the collars is a dangerous one. The Wookiees are naturally enraged at the treatment of their people and it is challenging for an Imperial trooper to get them off without potentially getting himself choked to death in a Wookiee death grip. And the tools used to remove the collars were specifically designed so that only humans could use them."

"So," Rieekan said thoughtfully, "The delay on removing the shock collars doesn't necessarily mean that this is some kind of elaborate set up and the Wookiees will be enslaved again on a moment's notice."

Klinder shook his head doubtfully, "I do not know, General. This whole situation is well out of my experience …"

"Stop it, all of you," Leia said, speaking for the first time, "Forget the collars, forget the potential treachery for just a few minutes. What about Luke? What in all the star clusters is happening with Luke?"

Klinder frowned, "Luke, your Highness?"

Mothma rose to her feet now and moved over to press a gentle but restraining hand on Leia's shoulder, "Skywalker, Major Klinder. Princess Leia was a close friend to Skywalker, and his ascension to the title of Crown Prince of the Empire has been a difficult one for her. Indeed, for us all."

"But this," Solo said firmly, "Puts a new spin on it, doesn't it? The Empire under Palpatine enslaved the Wookiees and now Luke is out there freeing them? That has to mean something."

"He's acting like a Jedi, not a Sith," Leia agreed, "Freeing the slaves like this."

There was a long pause and Mothma said gently, "But Sith and Jedi do not work together, Leia."

Another stretch of silence, and then Rieekan spoke up, "Or perhaps they do, when they are father and son."

/-

 _Leia Organa's quarters_

 _The Liberty_

 _30 minutes later_

Leia leaned up against Han Solo, "It's possible, isn't it, Han?"

Han put his arm around her, kissed her gently on the cheek, "Leia, we just don't know."

Leia sighed, "I think maybe we do know. I didn't want to admit it myself, indeed I really wanted this to be some elaborate scheme to entrap Luke. However, given Vader's truly bizarre behavior since Luke disappeared, and his even more bizarre behavior since Luke re-appeared, I have to wonder if it is true. If Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader and Luke really is … is his son."

Solo shook his head, "It's hard to believe, but yeah, maybe? I poked around a bit about Anakin Skywalker …"

"So did I," Leia said, "And I'm sure we came up with similar things. Hero With No Fear. Disappeared in the early days of the Empire, presumed dead. But maybe …"

The doorbell chimed.

"Oh stars, who can it be now?" the princess yelped in exasperation, "I'm tired and upset and stressed and it is the middle of the night. I just want to drink more alcohol than I should and go to sleep!"

Solo grinned at this short diatribe and removed his arm from around her.

"I'll get rid of whoever it is," he said, standing up and moving to the door.

He hit the switch and the door slid open.

Luke Skywalker stood outside, a hesitant smile on his face.

"Um, may I come in?" he asked.

 _Author Note: One more chapter after this one. Thanks to those of you who have read and followed and favorited and reviewed. It's all gold and incredibly encouraging. And thanks to my wonderful husband for beta'ing!_


	8. Chapter 8

_Leia Organa's quarters_

 _The Liberty_

Han Solo stood still for one stunned heartbeat.

An instant later, he yanked Skywalker into the room, shut the door, locked it, and pulled out his blaster and aimed it at the youth, though he made sure to switch it to stun.

Luke gazed thoughtfully at the blaster, then turned to look at Leia, who had risen to her feet and was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Hello, Leia," he said quietly.

"Luke?" she said in a dazed tone, "Is it really you?"

He nodded, though he didn't move toward her, "Yes. I'm sorry to burst in like this so suddenly, but I need to talk to you alone. Well, with you and Han, I mean."

"Oh Luke," Leia said incredulously, and then suddenly her eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Wait a minute. How did you get in here? How did you board the _Libert_ y? Is the Empire on its way, Luke? Have you betrayed us all?"

Luke looked startled, " _No_ , the Empire doesn't know where we are. Vader doesn't know where we are. I, ah, stowed away in Major Klinder's ship."

Solo tightened his grip on the blaster slightly, "So, you knew?"

Luke nodded, "That he is working with the Alliance? Yes. He was uncovered as a Rebel mole exactly 5 months and 14 days ago. But don't worry. I checked the intel the Empire was feeding you through him, and it all had to do with Kashyyyk. The situation there has changed so much that nothing he told you is of concern."

Leia shook her head incredulously, "Luke, who are you working for? The Empire? Or the Alliance."

Her friend hesitated briefly, then ducked his head, "Is both an option?"

"No, it isn't!" she responded in frustration. Her tone grew fierce, "Luke, I don't know what Vader did to you. I can't pretend to understand what you've gone through this last year. But to align yourself with the Empire is something I cannot fathom! It is a hideous, horrible system, a corrupt dictatorship. How could you have changed so much that you would support such a tyrannical entity?"

Luke gazed at her for a long moment and grimaced, "I haven't, I promise you! Look, Leia, Han, what happened is really complicated and I don't even really know where to start, but I absolutely must talk to you. Can you … can you bring yourself to give me some of your time? I mean without calling security, or stunning me?"

Leia and Han exchanged hesitant glances, and then Han sighed and holstered his blaster.

"Ok, Kid, fine," he said and gestured to the chair in the corner of Leia's small living room. He sat down next to Leia, but kept his hand near his weapon. He had trusted Luke Skywalker with his life in the past but now, with a year of mystery lurking in his former friend's blue eyes, he wasn't letting down his guard.

Luke glanced around at the room, then looked at the two sitting stiffly on the couch, "So let me start at the beginning."

"Please," Leia agreed, but then she asked suddenly, "But first of all, is Palpatine really dead?"

Luke, who had been clearing his throat to start, looked startled, "Um, yeah. His head was cut off. Even he couldn't survive that."

"But," Leia felt herself in need of being very sure, "You actually saw it happen? I mean, the Emperor and Vader didn't, I don't know, have a fake head made up or anything as some elaborate hoax, did they?"

Luke choked and then grinned a little, "Leia, _I_ chopped off Palpatine's head, with my lightsaber, and I did a thorough job if it. Yes, he's dead."

Leia's eyes widened in awe, "You, Luke? You killed the Emperor?! How?"

Luke sighed. (His mind flashed back to the Throne Room, to Force Lightning and Father suppressing cries of pain and Ahsoka dancing in the background, her lightsabers flashing, and the Royal Guards battling and falling and the brief lightning strikes on his own arms before he struggled forward, pushed through the pain with the power of his love for Leia and Han and the Wookiees and the myriad suppressed peoples of the galaxy and yes, his Father and took off the head of the dragon.)

"It's a long story, Leia," he said wearily, "And it wasn't easy. I can tell you more about it later but we may not have much time and there are other, more important things to discuss. Like how all this started in the first place."

He looked down at the floor now, "I was captured on Sedratis by a sleeper Imperial agent."

"We know …" Leia interpolated softly.

Luke looked up at her, "They knocked me out with drugs along with stunning me, and I woke chained up in an interrogation chamber with Vader almost literally breathing down my neck."

Han felt Leia stiffen, and he took her hand in his.

Luke looked apologetic, "He didn't … he didn't torture me. He was going to, but I ran off my mouth about Anakin Skywalker being my father and by the time Vader finished the DNA tests, he was kneeling on the floor nearly unconscious from shock. He thought I had died with my mother, before I was born."

Leia's eyebrows furrowed, "So you mean he knew that some woman was bearing his child?"

Luke nodded, took a deep breath, "Yeah, he knew that _his wife_ was expecting a child."

Han gulped and he heard Leia gasp.

"You mean to say," Solo demanded, "That some woman _married_ Darth Vader?"

Luke smiled a little, "No, Han, some woman married Anakin Skywalker. He was a decent, even noble person back then. Her name, my mother's I mean, was Padme Naberrie, also known as Padme Amidala. She was Queen of Naboo in her teens, and a Galactic Senator during her marriage to my father."

Leia reached out her left hand, the hand not holding Han's, and touched Luke's knee, "Padme Amidala? Luke, I have seen her speeches. She was a friend of my father's! She was your mother? She was absolutely amazing!"

He nodded, "Yeah, yeah she was. Vader has given me a bunch of her speeches and yes, she was astonishing. Kind, compassionate, loving, devoted to her ideals, courageous, an ardent champion of democracy …"

Luke paused now and leaned forward a little, looking directly into Leia's eyes, " _So_ much like you, Leia. You have her beauty and her fire and her political expertise. And it was those vids of my mother that revealed the truth. Showed what you truly are to me. "

He continued carefully, "Leia, there is something I need to tell you. It won't be easy for you to hear it, but you must."

Leia shook her head in obvious bewilderment, "Luke, I don't understand …"

Solo, on the other hand, understood completely.

"Oh, I do," he said, his tone a mixture of bitterness and fury, "It's pretty obvious, isn't it? Luke wants you to marry him."

Leia swung around even as Luke did.

"What?" they both said simultaneously.

Solo stood up now, clenching is fists in outrage, "Don't play around with her, Luke. I see it all now. You were just a farmboy before but now you're the Crown Prince of the Empire. Your father married a Queen and he's now the Emperor, so you just want to waltz in here and convince Leia to marry you with the idea that she'll go for it because she's willing to sacrifice herself for the galaxy, for the Alliance …"

"No, no, no, no, NO!" Luke interrupted, leaping to his feet with a look of total horror on his face.

Leia blinked at them both.

"Stars, that is so awful, Han," the youth moaned, beginning to pace, "That is just the most disgusting thing. Wow. You know, it could possibly have happened. They are a pair of morons when you think about it! They let us be thrown together in an emotionally charged situation and didn't tell us a thing. We're the same age. Thank you for being you, Han. I knew within a couple of weeks that Leia was attracted to you so yeah, I firmly refused to go down that road. Because wow, that would have been totally … there just aren't words to describe how hideous it would have been if I had fallen madly in love with Leia."

Solo realized his mouth had dropped open and he was drooling in shock.

Leia pursed her lips, fought with herself, lost, and burst into a chortle of hysterical laughter, "Well, thanks a lot, Luke. I'm glad to know what you really think of me."

He looked at her in bewilderment, then started laughing too, "I'm sorry, Leia. I didn't mean … look, this is so hard to say but …"

He stopped suddenly and tilted his head, "Someone's coming."

Solo frowned, "Um, there are a bunch of people who are bunking in the quarters along this corridor, Luke."

The youth's eyes grew distant as he focused, and then he shook his head, "No, it's someone who wants to talk to Leia. I'm going to hide in your refresher, Ok? Listen, I know it is hard for you, but please trust me a little longer. I must talk to you privately about something _vitally_ important."

Han and Leia exchanged doubtful glances, but then Leia nodded and sighed, "Ok, Luke, that's fine. But Luke, the refresher is small."

Luke nodded gratefully and scurried into the refresher, leaving the door open slightly.

An instant later, he was back out.

"Wow, that _is_ small!" he exclaimed.

He gestured with his hand and to the astonishment of the others, a grate in the ceiling, leading to the Liberty's duct work, suddenly shifted into mid air. Luke leaped 3 meters in the air, grabbed the edge of the now open ductwork, rolled in gracefully, disappeared, and the grate moved back into position.

Leia's doorbell chimed.

"Well, I guess I'm the doorman this evening," Han said with a grin, and moved to the door.

It slid open to reveal General Carlist Rieekan.

"Solo!" Rieekan said in surprise, which shifted into a tinge of embarrassment, "I do hope I'm not interrupting anything."

 _"_ _Just an unexpected visit from our old friend Luke, who is currently hiding in the ceiling,"_ Han thought.

But he said, "Not at all. I just thought Leia needed some company, and truthfully I needed some too. That was quite a briefing."

Rieekan nodded and stepped in the door, his eyes shifting to Leia, who had risen to her feet.

"Leia," he said with a worry in his eyes, "How are you?"

Leia firmly didn't look at the duct work.

"Well, confused," she acknowledged truthfully, "And surprised. And bewildered. You get the picture."

Carlist nodded with understanding, "I have similar feelings. I just wanted to say that while I know you have hope about Skywalker, and I do too, you need to be careful. The freeing of the slaves on Kashyyyk may be part of some long game we don't understand yet. Vader can no more be trusted than Palpatine, and Skywalker is working with Vader. So be careful with your heart and your hopes."

Leia sighed, "You know I will, Carlist."

She didn't sit down, as she didn't want Rieekan to stay.

"We'll be gathering more intel as quickly as possible," the General continued, "And tomorrow will be a busy day. So you need to get some sleep, Princess."

Leia nodded, "Sleep won't come easily, but I'll do my best."

The General gave her a gentle pat on the arm and turned to the door, "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Ok, thanks for stopping by, and you get some sleep too."

Once Rieekan was out of the room and the door locked, the grate opened and Luke dropped out of the ceiling and replaced the grate with the Force.

Leia looked at him and stifled a laugh, "Welcome back, Mr. Lint."

He looked down at his black outfit, now streaked with gray, and chuckled even as he shook himself off.

"Yeah, these Mon Calamari ships are fantastic but the cleaning of the duct work leaves a bit to be desired. But I guess they have more important things to do."

He coughed a little and said, "Do you mind if I get some water?"

Leia gestured wordlessly toward the small food/drink unit and Luke stepped over to pour a cup.

Han found himself staring at the ceiling where Luke had just emerged.

"So Kid, you've obviously learned some of that weird Force stuff, huh?"

Luke turned around as he took a long drink, "Yeah, a lot. I spent most of the last year training in the ways of the Force."

"From Vader," Leia stated with a menacing glare.

He shook his head as he took another drink, "No. I learned from Jedi holocrons mostly, which are holographic datacrons with teaching from Jedi masters of the past. The last few months I also got some training from a living master who has been hiding out for the last couple of decades. And Ben Kenobi has provided some instruction. I refused to learn Dark Side ways from Father. Ugh!"

Leia, who had been focusing intently, now looked puzzled, "Ben?"

"Ben Kenobi," Luke said absently, "You know, from Tatooine."

"Old Man Kenobi who is dead?" Solo asked with the lift of one bewildered eyebrow.

"Oh that," Luke had the grace to look slightly abashed, "Yeah, well, he shows up as a ghost now and then. He's the one who …"

Leia and Han exchanged startled glances.

Skywalker looked offended now, "Hey, I'm not crazy. Obi-Wan Kenobi figured out how to return from the netherworld of the Force and talks to me. Father sees him too."

"That," Solo drawled, "Is very reassuring. Your psycho dad sees Kenobi too. Those must be interesting conversations."

Luke looked mad for a moment, and then his face relaxed into a wide grin, "I'm sorry, it does sound nuts, doesn't it? I guess I could say I'm not nuts but if I was nuts, would I know? Who knows what crazy people think? Maybe I am crazy and …"

Leia laughed now, and put an arm on his shoulder, "I believe you, Luke. You sound too sane to be crazy. Anyway, let's just table the whole ghost question and move on."

Han nodded, even as he reminded himself to keep his hand close to his blaster. Luke looked sane enough, but really, a _ghost_?

He spoke up now, "So what did you need to tell Leia, now that you've made it completely clear that you don't want to marry her?"

Luke's amused expression morphed into a serious one, even as he took Leia's hand and drew her down on the couch.

"Leia," he said gravely, looking into her eyes, "Vader thought that my mother had died before giving birth. Indeed, he believed that he _killed_ her and the child, because he choked her in a rage. Padme refused to go with him after he pledged his allegiance to Palpatine and the Dark Side. Thankfully, he didn't harm her seriously, and Obi-Wan Kenobi was able to take her to Polis Massa, a medical facility. For reasons that the med droids could not ascertain, her life force drained away and she died in childbirth. But not before she gave birth to me and … to my sister, my twin sister."

Han jolted in shock, "You have a sister, Kid?"

Luke nodded, but he kept his eyes on Leia's.

She, in turn, stared into those blue eyes, both familiar and mysterious. Her mind flashed back to her earliest memories, of a beautiful but sad woman, crying out in pain. To the cries of a baby. No, _two_ babies!

"Yes, it's you, Leia," Luke said gently.

Leia pulled back slightly, her own eyes taking on a faraway look, "I know. Somehow … I've always known."

Luke's eyes widened and he pulled back, his forehead crinkling in surprise, "Really?"

Leia stood up now, her eyes gazing blankly into the past, "Yes, Luke. My whole life something has been missing. Someone. And even in those first crazy moments on the Death Star when you came tearing in to my cell to rescue me …"

She turned now, her eyes filled with tears of recognition and the knowledge of bitter loss, "I connected with you almost immediately. Because you were my missing piece, my twin brother, the one I missed without even knowing what I was missing."

Luke's mouth was hanging open now and she frowned, "What?"

He shook his head even as he stood up and moved forward to give her a firm hug, "You're amazing, Leia. When Vader tried to convince me that I am his son, it took me 6 days to acknowledge the truth. I came up with the most bizarre scenarios to deny the obvious reality of our relationship. You are astonishing."

"I am, really," she agreed with a slight smile, then grew more serious, "It's easier for me to accept you as my brother than Vader as my …"

Her voice trailed away.

"He isn't your father, Leia," Luke said firmly, "Bail Organa was your father. Bail was a great man, and he raised a wonderful daughter. Vader knows and understand that you hate him, that you have every reason to loathe him. He doesn't expect you to accept him in any way."

Leia compressed her lips slightly, "And I'm sure he has no interest in acknowledging me, either. After all, you were only a Rebel for a few short months, though you did destroy the Death Star. But I've been a Rebel for much longer, and an open opponent of Imperial policies for years."

"Oh Leia," Luke sighed and shook his head, "If you wanted him to, Vader would stand on the top of his palace and make a public announcement that you are his daughter. If you wanted, he would give up the throne to you."

Leia froze in disbelief, "You can't be serious. Not that I want anything from that tyrant, that murderer, but Luke, he _hates_ me."

Luke shook his head and stood up and ran a hand through his hair, "No, he doesn't. Not anymore."

He looked down at her, "Leia, Darth Vader is a weird person. I feel like I know him better than anyone else does, and maybe even know him better than he knows himself. However, there are still peculiarities in his mindset that are beyond my capacity to understand. But it is safe to say this. In his head, the galaxy is divided into two camps. You and me, and everyone else. And he would send the entire galaxy into perdition to save us at this point. As crazy as that is."

"It's not just crazy, it's horrible," she responded indignantly, "And immoral, and outrageous, and evil."

"And if that is true," Solo interrupted, "What about the whole Kashyyyk situation and freeing the slaves? Why would he allow you to free the slaves if he doesn't care about anyone else? Or is it really some big trick, Luke?"

"It's not a trick," the youth said fiercely, his eyes suddenly dark with passion, "I promise you with everything that is in me that the Wookiees will be freed, not just on Kashyyyk but in other Imperial facilities around the galaxy. And we'll be taking on the Hutt slave trade next. As for Vader, he wants me safe, and Leia safe, but he also wants us fulfilled. As long as we're alive and well, the galaxy can and should be in good shape too. He has major priority problems, putting our lives above _everything_ else. But …"

Luke sighed, "He really hates slavery, as incredible as that sounds considering he's been Palpatine's enforcer for decades. But Anakin Skywalker was a slave so …"

"A slave?" Leia interrupted incredulously.

Luke nodded solemnly, "For the first nine years of his life, on Tatooine, first to Gardulla the Hutt and then to a Toydarian merchant."

Solo muttered softly in Huttese. Leia lifted an inquiring eyebrow and he explained, "Hutt slavery would mess up anyone, especially a small child."

Luke nodded, "Yeah. The Jedi found him when he was 9 and took him to the Jedi Temple for training, leaving his mother behind in slavery. She was murdered by Tusken Raiders when he was 19, after my Uncle Owen's father bought her, freed her, and married her. The Raiders snatched her from our homestead and Father got back too late to save her. She died in his arms from the Raider's abuse. Father married Padme shortly after and I think he got totally obsessed about her safety. When he started having prophetic dreams of her death in childbirth, he couldn't handle it. He basically cracked."

Skywalker began pacing now, "See, the Jedi didn't know what to do with Anakin Skywalker. He hadn't grown up from infancy in the Temple, and he had an unsavory and difficult past in their eyes. He didn't get needed support from the Jedi Masters, and Palpatine had been manipulating him for years, targeting him as an apprentice. When this crisis about Padme came up, Palpatine told him that with the Power of the Dark Side, he could save her, which was a lie. Palpatine had recognized Anakin's power as a child of 9 and had been manipulating him for years, always making himself available, encouraging him even as the Jedi eyed him doubtfully. So in an attempt to save her, Anakin turned on the Jedi and aligned himself with Palpatine and became Darth Vader. And then Mother died, and he thought his child as well, and all there was left for him was Palpatine. He's always fixated on people, I think, to the exclusion of being able to think about the big picture."

Luke shook his head in grief, then peered directly into his sister's eyes, "Leia, I'm not trying to excuse him, I hope you know that. He has done such terrible things and I hate those things, I hate what he has done. But for all that he is intelligent and gifted in the Force and politically savvy in many ways, I … sort of feel like emotionally he is stuck. He never worked through the slavery, and the horrible guilt of failing his mom, and then almost 20 years of believing he'd killed his wife and child. He just let it fester and grow. He's a psychiatric nightmare."

"He's more than a psychiatric nightmare." Leia snapped.

(In spite of herself, reluctantly, she was moved. She had a brief image of a small boy who looked like Luke, struggling in slavery under Tatooine's hot suns, blessed with the Force power of the ages but without the emotional capacity to handle it well. But then darker images intruded. A cold cell, an interrogation droid, her own screaming as pain and meds and that Dark Will attacked her mind.)

She shook her head to clear it, "But I will agree he is clearly screwed up. And he's running the Empire. That is _so_ encouraging."

"Well, that's where you come in," Luke said, though hesitantly.

Leia stood up now in outrage, "You were serious about that? You really think that I am going to take any kind of leadership position in the Empire? You know I don't want that. I believe in democracy!"

Her twin's eyebrow twitched, "You were a princess on Alderaan."

"Alderaan was a democracy," she snarled, "Not a dictatorship."

"Yes," Luke agreed simply.

The two gazed at one another for a long moment, and then Leia said softly, "You can't be serious."

"Leia," Luke stood up and began pacing, "In Father's eyes you aren't his daughter as much as Padme's daughter. And Padme was a brilliant politician. He told me that he had definite plans to overthrow the Emperor at some point and rule with Padme, with the understanding that she would do most of the actual governing."

He stopped now to stare at her and Han, who had moved next to Leia and put his arm around her, "When Father figured out my identity, he fled with me. He was afraid that the Emperor would find out about me and take me as an apprentice or a servant or just plain kill me unpleasantly. I think for months, Father's primary intention was to just run with me. Finally, Father decided he had to kill the Emperor to keep me safe, and I'm not sure he would have taken that step without Ben urging him on."

Luke stepped a little closer now and stared into Leia's eyes, "But then we found out about you. And truthfully, Father kind of freaked. Because you are out on the front lines and you are on the Wanted List and there was no way to keep you safe. We talked it over, a lot. He has tremendous respect and admiration for your political abilities and your will. In his mind, you are his obvious successor."

"Because I remind him of our mother," Leia stated, "That's … that's just weird."

"No, it's not," Luke replied firmly, then sighed, "Well, maybe a little. But Padme was an incredible politician and Father absolutely worshiped her. And you are brilliant as well, with natural gifting and fantastic training under Bail's tutelage."

Luke clasped his arms behind his back and said, "I told him, of course, that you are an ardent defender of democracy, and I am too. And he's … Ok with that so long as you are involved in the Imperial government at the highest level."

Leia's nose wrinkled as she struggled to put this in terms she could understand, "So you're saying that he's willing to … what, allow the Senate to reconvene?"

Luke nodded briskly, "Absolutely. I'm not the politician in the family but my idea is that you could kind of work yourself out of a job. I mean, you might start out as being Emperor Vader's right hand woman and in a few years you could be attending the grand openings of shopping malls."

Leia started, then chuckled, "That's inspiring."

"You know what I mean. Don't you?"

Leia hesitated, then nodded, "I think I do. You are suggesting a gradual change to the Empire. But Luke, it is such a corrupt entity it seems like just getting rid of it entirely would be a better option."

Luke shook his head, "Father won't go for that, Leia. And while there is corruption, there are good people. I've met some of them, many of whom have struggled to maintain their humanity in the midst of the Empire's horrific policies. We've already arrested many of the most egregious abusers on Coruscant. It will be a process to clean up the Empire, but better than an open war between Father's forces and the random Imperial Fleets out there and the Alliance. I believe that a gradual change will result in less overall loss of life. But of course, it has to be your decision."

There was silence for 2 full minutes before Leia said slowly, "You've given me a lot to think about, Luke. I will need to talk to the Alliance leadership about this."

This was said with a look of challenge, but Luke nodded instantly, "Of course. You are brilliant, twin, but no one person can possibly run an Empire, or even assist in running an Empire, without a great deal of wise council. The only way this will work is if the Alliance is willing to work with you and Vader to some degree. Which is, I know, a great deal to ask."

Leia nodded, relieved, "Ok. So it's the middle of the night and the Council is asleep. Why don't you get some rest on the couch and we'll have an emergency meeting in the morn …"

Luke interrupted, "Leia, I'm not going before the Council. They'll arrest me, for one thing. And I need to get back home to Father. I've got work to do. I'm in for it as it is. It isn't like he sanctioned my little jaunt into the heart of the Rebel Alliance. I came because I owed it to you to explain all this personally, but I have to leave now."

Leia blinked and shook her head, "Luke, I'm sorry, but I can't let you go. You have to realize that. You are the heir to the Empire! We just can't let you walk out of here. But Luke, you've got all kinds of cred with us. You destroyed the Death Star. It will be far better …

Luke's eyes suddenly widened even as Leia felt Han move suddenly at her side.

Solo, who had obviously decided to take matters into his own hands, pulled the trigger of his blaster and the stun ray traveled toward Luke, who lifted his hands. The ray bounced off as it had hit an invisible shield. It ricocheted back toward Han and Leia.

The stun ray hit them both. Leia felt herself falling, though something kept her from hitting the floor hard. Then the darkness took her.

/-

Leia woke up with a peculiar taste in her mouth.

Groggily, she raised her head and looked around. She was lying on her bed in her quarters in the _Liberty_. It was 0500 in the sleep cycle.

Her brain was moving slowly and she struggled to remember why she felt so odd. What had happened?

With a jolt, her memory clicked into gear. Luke. Who was her _twin_. Darth Vader, who was her …The stun bolt! She sat up suddenly and then moaned at the pain in her head.

When her eyes had focused, she saw a glass of water sitting on the table next to her bed, along with a stim pill. A small flimsy sat next to it with three short words.

 _Take this, Leia._

She twisted her face in frustration and gulped it down. Within seconds, her head cleared.

There was a datapad sitting next to the glass of water, and she opened it with a weary thumbswipe. It was from Luke

" _Dear Leia,_

 _I'm sorry that I drugged you and Han with Vertibain. Father depends on me for emotional stability and if the Alliance locked me in a cell, the situation on Coruscant in particular and the galaxy in general would go from tentatively stable to totally insane very quickly. So I had to leave._

 _I assure you that neither Father nor I will announce anything about our personal family affairs without your permission._

 _I want to talk to you again and, I hope, see you again soon. But I respect you, Leia. My path lies with Father, and I know my role is to assist him in his walk toward the Light and physical and emotional stability. Your path may lie on a different path than mine, though I long for more time with you, my most precious … friend._

 _This datapad has Holonet codes so you can contact me safely. I promise you that I will not attempt to trace the transmissions._

 _I love you with all my heart. I respect you with everything that I am._

 _Luke"_

Leia rubbed a hand across her eyes and leaned back with her eyes shut.

The reality was that this probably was for the best. The official story would be that Luke had stunned her and Han and escaped (presumably? He might not have made it off the _Liberty_.) It was true that Vader wouldn't react well to his son occupying a high security cell of the Rebel Alliance, and an out-of-control Sith Lord was not what anyone needed right now.

She opened her eyes again and noticed an intermittent light indicating another message.

This one was shorter, and had been sent 2 hours previously.

" _Leia,_

 _I'm just about to jump to lightspeed. I kind of stole the_ Millennium Falcon _. Well, borrowed it. Chewbacca is with me. He literally sniffed me out when I was boarding the_ Falcon _and insisted that he come along to make sure the ship stayed in good shape. He'll bring it back soon._

 _I love you, Luke"_

There was a groan from the main living area and a minute later, Solo staggered into Leia's bedroom, a glass of water in his hand. He gulped down the stim pill Luke had left for him, and glared at Leia.

"Where is that kid? I'm going to wring his neck."

Leia pursed her lips thoughtfully, then handed him the datapad.

Two minutes later, after Solo's eyeballs had stabilized enough to read the notes, the smuggler began yelling in Huttese.

Leia stared at him blankly until he shifted into Basic.

"He stole my ship! And my co-pilot!"

"Borrowed them, Han …"

"I'm going to throw him into a shaak pit where he'll be mercilessly licked by baby shaaks! I'm going to hang him up by his feet and hurl Wiffle balls at him!"

"I sort of doubt you'll manage to do …"

"My ship! How could he? Wait until I get my hands on him. Arghhh!"

Leia suddenly started giggling hysterically, as she rolled off her bed and walked into Han's arms.

He forced himself to calm down, even as he stroked her hair with his hand.

"You gotta admit it is totally infuriating, Leia."

"Yes, yes it is," she said with a smile in her voice. She looked at the datapad in his hand, "But don't worry. We will be seeing him again very soon."

 _The End_

 _Except I'm going to have a short epilogue._


	9. Epilogue

_Emperor Vader's palace_

 _Coruscant_

 _4 years later_

"This is ridiculous," Han groused.

Leia sighed and held out a hand. He ignored it in favor of sitting down beside her and then carefully helping her up and into the hoverchair next to the bed.

"They've been waiting 2 days, Han. More and more and more of them. And it's going to get colder tonight. This won't take long."

"Leia," Solo leaned over and kissed her on the lips gently, "You just had major surgery 2 days ago. You shouldn't be out of bed."

"The medical personnel say that moving around is actually wise. It reduces the risk of blood clots or something" she said wearily.

She smiled now at him, "Han, don't worry. I'm not even walking. We'll just go out to a very safe balcony with shielding and temperature control and hold the babies and smile at the hovercams for a few minutes and wave at the crowds and then get back here."

He groaned softly, "I can't believe this is our lives now."

The door to Leia's hospital room slid open, and Solo looked up to see his tall and menacing father-in-law march into the room with Luke Skywalker in tow.

"This is totally unnecessary, Princess," the deep voice rumbled.

"See! That's what I said too!" Han said indignantly, in agreement for once with this wife's father.

"It's getting cold though, and the crowds keep gathering," Luke said worriedly, "So maybe, if you are up to it, Leia …"

"I am," she said firmly, pushing a button on her hoverchair.

Solo and Vader exchanged exasperated glances of understanding.

"Why do your children have to be so ridiculously responsible?" Solo grumbled.

"They got that from their mother," the Emperor responded, his tone taking on its usual hint of heartfelt longing at the mention of the twins' long dead mother.

The door opened again. The green Twi'lek nurse who stepped in the door was beaming in her usual fulsome way, and Solo suppressed a groan.

Oblivious, she nearly sang, "Well, our two little men are bathed and dressed and I believe now is the perfect time for their public introduction to the galaxy!"

Skywalker shot a grin at his brother-in-law and then stepped forward to relieve the nurse of her precious burden. For a long moment, he gazed into the tiny face of Owen Solo, currently scrunched up with a frown on his face and with just one small sliver of his left eye showing.

A moment later, a tall Togruta stalked in, her usual menacing mien only slightly diminished by the small squeaking bundle in her arms.

"I think Bail wants his mother," she said gravely, and handed the baby to Han, who in turn carried the infant over to Leia.

Vader sidled carefully over to Ahsoka Tano and lowered his voice, "Are their any issues, Snips?"

She shook her head, her montrals swinging, "We've done full scans, your Highness…"

"Snips…"

"All right, all right" she said, smiling, "We've done full scans, _Skyguy_. No sign of any security issues and the palace is locked down tightly. The two camerapersons waiting on the balcony have been fully fumigated and scanned for any lurking diseases. I believe we are ready if Han and Leia are."

Leia smiled in amusement, "You make it sound like a battle operation, Ahsoka."

"I will keep your little ones safe if it is the last thing I do," Tano said rather ferociously, even as each hand lovingly brushed a lightsaber.

Leia glanced at Luke and the twins exchanged grateful glances. Ahsoka's devotion to the Skywalker clan in general and to Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker in particular had been lifesaving during the last 4 tumultuous years, years which had brought about a fragile peace throughout the Core and Mid Rim worlds. Even the Outer Rim Hutt strongholds were falling to Imperial and Alliance advances, and the slave trade was being slowly eradicated.

There was still much suffering, still areas where local warlords subjugated their subjects, still corruption to be stamped out in former Imperial garrisons. But much had been done thanks to the efforts of Emperor Darth Vader and his children and their devoted allies.

And now Leia Organa was stepping back, to take time for her husband, her brother, yes, even her father. And her beautiful and thoroughly exhausting children.

Leia looked down at Bail in her arms and caught a sudden breath of wonder. She was in pain from the emergency surgical delivery when the twins had shifted breech at the last minute, but it was all worth it, so very worth it, to be blessed with these two healthy babes after three years of marriage to Han. They were precious and handsome; Baby Bail, with his dark hair and dark eyes, so much like his namesake, and Baby Owen, also with dark hair but with blue eyes like his uncle Luke.

"I'm ready," she said.

Luke handed Owen to Han and then moved behind her, directing the hoverchair out of the medical room, down the corridor, through several alcoves, and finally onto a large balcony, 10 stories up from street level.

Leia's breath caught at the sight of the crowds, the thousands upon thousands who were waiting below for one distant glance through macros at the new baby grandsons of the Emperor, the sons of Han Solo and Leia Organa-Solo. She sensed vaguely, through the Force, the thousands more huddled in cantinas and hotel rooms, watching the holocams which were even now broadcasting close up pictures of her children.

She had seen large crowds, been part of huge celebrations, but there was a strange feeling to this one. Less pomp and circumstance, and more sheer wonder and joy.

"It seems strange that so many would care," she said very softly as she shifted Bail so his little face could be seen more easily by the camerapersons, "I mean, yes, our babies are wonderful but other people's babies are too."

There was a pause, and then unexpectedly, Emperor Vader spoke, "I believe it is a sign of hope, Princess. For years, Coruscanti celebrations revolved around military parades and observances of bloody conquest. Today, this planet, and other worlds as well, rejoice at the birth of your precious children. That is a good thing."

Luke nodded and placed a loving hand on Leia's shoulder, "Indeed it is."

" _And the babies are far more inspiring than Palpatine's decapitated head,"_ he said telepathically to his father.

The answering thought was both fond and amused, _"Indeed they are, my son."_

The End

 _Author Note: The epilogue was partly inspired by the Prince of Wales and his wife who keep nobly showing up a day or two after the birth of their children to show off for the crowds. I always just wanted to hide after giving birth, but then I'm not royalty. Thankfully._

 _And once more, thank you to those who followed and reviewed. And to my wonderful husband, thank you again for editing this fic!_


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